Millennium Development Goals and Poverty in Bihar–A Regional Approach

IRJMSH Vol 7 Issue 1 [Year 2016] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print)
Millennium Development Goals and Poverty in Bihar – A Regional

Approach
Rajeev Kr. Ranjan
Research Scholar, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,
Delhi-07
Abstract
The paper seeks to discuss and analyze the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 1:
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger in Bihar out of 8 goals of MDGs to increase incomes,
reduce hunger, achieve universal primary education, eliminate gender inequality, reduce
maternal and child mortality, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other
disease, reverse the loss of natural resources and biodiversity, improve access to water sanitation,
good housing and establish effective global partnerships among the nations. The paper have
discuss are eradication of poverty, Sustainable livelihood refers to a way of approaching
development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and the means whereby people
obtain them. Bihar has been placed in the same category of the poorest African countries like
Mozambique, Somalia and Sierra Leone lagging significantly behind the national average in
most of the development indicators. The causes are related to structural and natural endowments,
geographical factor, population pressure, socio-economic factors. However in recent few years,
Bihar's performance in socio-economic sector has been impressive but still it lags behind the
targets set by MDGs and likely to miss many of them. Present poverty head count ratio of Bihar
is 33.74 while it was 62.28 in 1990 but it may miss the target of 31.14 in 2015 which is expected
to achieve 33.03.
Keywords: Millennium Development Goals, Livelihood, Sustainability, Poverty, Indicators.
Introduction
It is widely acknowledged that universal reforms without development of region cannot be
attained. It needs to achieve faster, sustainable human and socio-economic development that is
the bottom line that will serve all the MDGs. The aim of eight goals of MDG is to increase
incomes, reduce hunger, achieve universal primary education, eliminate gender inequality,
reduce maternal and child mortality, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and
other disease, reverse the loss of natural resources and biodiversity, improve access to water
sanitation, good housing and establish effective global partnerships among the nations. In some
of the countries, progress in some goals has been impressive; however, some of the global targets
set by MDG will not be met in some regions, particularly in India, sub-Sahara Africa and South
Asian countries. As we are reaching the 2015 target date, there is need of the assessment of the
present goals and in consideration of the future of development goals after 2015. The MDGs
have brought the debate back to the basic purpose of development, namely poverty removal. They
have raised a new question about equitable development. They are a means to make the debate on
the fundamental issues of development relevant in the new context of market-oriented polices as
opposed to state-directed development.
International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 390
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The MDGs has been carved out of the UN Millennium Declaration adopted in the fifty-fifth session
of the UN General Assembly in September, 2000. Significantly, the MDGs have a bias towards
health, education and empowerment. This could be construed as a positive move in international
policy as far as the development agenda is concerned. But a closer look at the strategies shows that
there are several roadblocks towards achieving these goals. Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs): eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote
gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global
partnership for development. These time-bound goals, with a target date of 2015, are currently
guiding sustainable development efforts worldwide. The Declaration and Goals reflect the best
qualities of our species. They are an example of what good and decent human beings can do when
they choose, deliberately, to rise above petty differences and selfish instincts (J. Roberts., 2011).
Poverty continues to outwit the means to eradicate it. Despite post-World War focus on fighting
poverty across the globe, poverty with its manifestations has continued to chart a distinct course.
The adoption of the UN Millennium Development Goals only underscores the reality that the war
on poverty has been far from won. As forces of globalization blur national boundaries, the need for
fighting poverty has become serious than ever before. Innovative financing mechanisms engaging
diverse stakeholders for developing poverty reduction strategies have been engineered as possible
neo-institutional structures to counter the world’s most daunting problems (Sharma., 2006).
Objective of the Study
The objectives of the study area are:
1. To assess and examine the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate
Extreme Poverty and Hunger in Bihar
2. To evaluate the initiatives taken by Union and States Government towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals.
Study Area
Bihar is situated between 24°-20’-10” N to 27°-31’-15” N latitude and 82°-19’-50” E to 88°-17’-
40” longitude. It is the northeastern part of India and 12th largest state in the country, in term of
geographical size of 98,940 km² and third largest by population. It is an entirely land–locked state,
in a Sub Tropical region of the Temperate zone. Bihar lies midway between the humid West
Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west which provides it with a transitional
position in respect of climate, economy and culture. Annual rainfall varies from 1000mm to
2000mm and the mean annual temperature ranges between 20°C to 27°C. It is bounded by Nepal
in the north and by Jharkhand in the south. Bihar plain is divided into two unequal halves (North
Bihar and South Bihar) by the river Ganges which flows through the middle from west to east.
Bihar’s land has average elevation above sea level is 173 feet.
The state is divided into 9 divisions and 38 districts, for administrative purposes (Map 1). The
various districts included in the divisions - Patna, Tirhut, Saran, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia,
Bhagalpur, Munger and Magadh Division, are as listed below.
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Map 1: Administrative Location Map of Bihar
Bihar is one of the poorest and densely populated state in the country, lagging significantly behind
national average is most development indicator. The causes are related to natural endowments,
geographical factor, population pressure, social factors such as the caste system and public policy.
As per 2011 Census, Bihar has a total area of 94,163 sq. km. with a population of 103.8 million
and a decadal growth rate of 25.1% and its contributes 8.58% of country’s population, while
having 3.70% of the country’s land. The decadal growth rate of population for Bihar (25.1%) is
much higher than for India (17.6%) indicating the absence of demographic transition, that many
parts of India has already experienced. By virtue of being a part of Gangetic plain, the no. of
person living per sq. km. in Bihar (1102) is nearly three times the all India average (382). The
population pressure is major challenge in Bihar.
Data and Methods
This study is based on Secondary data sources. The data have been taken from the Census of India,
Planning Commission report, National Sample Survey report (NSSO), District Information System
for Education Report, Forest Survey of India, Economic survey of Bihar and World Bank Report etc.
For the Present Research, indicators of MDGs have been selected owing to data availability,
periodicity and reliability of the sources. Base year chosen is either 1990 (same as the Base years
of UN) or early 1990s depending on the availability of data while the final year is the latest year for
which data was available.
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Fighting Poverty and Hunger

Bihar development challenges cannot be analysed in isolation. It must be considered in the light of
India’s overall development agenda. Bihar is one of the poorest and densely populated state in the
country, lagging significantly behind national average in most of the development indicators. The
causes are related to structural and natural endowments, geographical factor, population pressure,
socio-economic factors etc.
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Target 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the people whose income is less than
one dollar per day
Indicator 1: Poverty Headcount Ratio (% of population below the national poverty line)
India’s poverty line is very low by international standards. As per the latest estimates of World
Bank, nearly 1.4 billion of world populations live below poverty line based on purchasing power
parity (PPP) of $1.25 per day in 2005 prices. Studies aptly reveal that more than half of the
population of Bihar are living below the Government of India’s extremely low poverty line. In
international perspective, some of Indian states are not very different from the poor countries of
Africa in the intensity of human deprivation. This is reaffirmed by the recent release of Multi-
dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by Oxford University in 2010. Ironically, Bihar along with some
other states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh has been placed in
the same category of the poorest African countries like Mozambique, Somalia and Sierra Leone.
However in recent few years, Bihar’s performance in socio-economic sector has been impressive
but still it lags behind the targets set by MDGs and likely to miss many of them. Present poverty
head count ratio of Bihar is 33.74 while it was 62.28 in 1990 but it may miss the target of 31.14 in
2015 which is expected to achieve 33.03 (Table 2.1). Impressively, India has already achieved the
target with current poverty headcount ratio of 21.9 against the target of 23.9 in 2015.
In state like Bihar, several causes can be attributed to the existence of poverty. Unsatisfactory
infrastructure, complex social stratification, lack of natural resources, declining investment, lack of
industrial development, leakage and corruption in public service, volatility in agricultural output
due to drought and frequent flood etc. are the major cause of poverty in Bihar. Poverty doesn’t
only put an adverse effect on economy but also posses a threat to its millennium commitments.
Table 1.1 and Graph 1.1 illustrate the statistics of poverty headcount ratio in Bihar.
Table 1.1: Poverty Headcount Ratio of Bihar and India (per cent)
State 1990 1993-94 2004-05 2011-12 Likely achievement 2015 Target 2015
Bihar 62.28 60.5 54.4 33.74 33.03 31.14
India 47.8 45.3 37.2 21.9 20.74 23.9
Source: Planning Commission of India (GOI)
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Graph 1.1: Graphical Presentation of Poverty Headcount Ratio in Bihar and India
Source: Planning Commission of India (GOI)

Indicator 2: Poverty Gap Ratio (Measuring the depth of poverty)
It reflects the degree to which the mean consumption of the poor falls short of the established
poverty line, indicating the depth of poverty. Poverty gap ratio helps to provide an overall
assessment of a region’s progress in poverty alleviation and the evaluation of the specific public
policy and private initiative.
During 2004-05 to 2011-12 the poverty gap ratio of India (estimated from monthly per capita
consumption expenditure data based on mixed recall period (MRP)) has shown decline in rural and
urban areas.
In Bihar, poverty gap ratio for the mentioned period was much higher than the national level in
both urban and rural areas as shown in the table 2.2 and graph 2.2.
Table 2.1: Poverty Gap Ratio of Bihar and India
State Rural Urban
2004-05 2011-12 2004-05 2011-12
Bihar 12.678 6.24 11.425 6.8
India 9.635 5.05 6.078 2.7
Source: Planning Commission of India
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Graph 2.1: Trend of Poverty Gap Ratio (PGR) in Bihar with respect to that in India
Source: NSSO (GOI)

The rural poverty gap ratio was 12.6% while urban poverty gap ratio was 11.4% in 2004-05. The
poverty gap ratio decreased to 6.2% in 2011-12 while urban gap ratio decreased to 6.8%. While the
national level poverty gap ratio for rural India was decline to 5.05% in 2011-12 from 9.635% in
2004-05. In urban India poverty gap ratio declined to 2.7% in 2011-12 from 6.07% in 2004-05.
Bihar in this regard did fairly well in the mentioned period.
Government Initiatives:
Some of the initiatives taken by the union government and state Government to Eradicate poverty
and ensure Sustainable livelihood of the people of Bihar.
National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
This mission aims to increase the production of rice by 10 million tons, wheat by 8 million tons
and pulses by 2 million tons by the end of the Eleventh Plan (2011-12). Now this scheme has been
extended to 12th Five year plan also. The mission covers about 13 million hectare of wheat area, 20
million hectare of rice area and 98 percent of pulses area. This mission also aims at restoring soil
fertility, creating employment opportunities and enhancing farm level economy to restore the
confidence of the farmers of the targeted districts.
For the period 2007-08 to 2011-12, the production of Rice increased by 54 lakh tonnes, wheat
increased by 55 lakh tonnes and pulses increased by 23 lakh tonnes. Bihar also followed the same
path in agriculture. Rice production increased by 37.15 lakh tonnes, wheat by 15.57 lakh tonnes
and pulses by 0.47 lakh tonnes.
Production of Major Crops in Bihar and India
State Crops 2007-08 2009-10 2011-12
(in lakh tonne) (in lakh tonne) (in lakh tonne)
Rice 966 1000 1020
India Wheat 785 785 840
Pulses 147 165 170
Rice 44.72 36.40 81.87
Bihar Wheat 49.74 44.03 65.31
Pulses 4.72 4.59 5.19
Source: For India’s production, India 2014, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GoI.
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For Bihar, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, GOB

Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
It was launched in 2007-08 for XI plan to incentive states to enhance in agriculture and allied
sectors to achieve 4% growth rate during the plan period and to empower states to select, plan,
approve and execute growth generating interventions and build agri-infrastructure as per their
priorities and agro-climatic requirements. RKVY encourages states to allocate more funds to
agriculture and allied sector. Bihar for the period 2004-05 to 2011-12, achieved growth rate of
3.32% at 2004-05 prices.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGA)
The MGNREG Act 2005 provides, enhances security for livelihood , giving a minimum of
hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household, adult
members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Performance of the MGNREGS (2007-08 to 2011-12) for Bihar
Year 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
No. of Households provided with 39.26 46.85
38.42 (37.3) 41.27 (33.3) 26.8 (20.1)
employment (lakh) (48.3) (35.9)
No. of Households obtaining 100 days 49945 260919 137649
100891 (2.6) 287019 (7.0)
of employment (1.3) (5.6) (5.1)
Employment generated (lakh person
840.58 991.22 1137.53 1597.49 866.38
days)
Percentage share of women in total
27.3 29.8 30 29.6 28.20
employment generated
Average employment per household 21.4 25.8 27.6 34.1 32.3
Note: Figures in parentheses denote percentages with respect to total job-cards issued.
Source: Department of Rural Development, GOB
Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)
It aims to provide assistance for construction/upgradation of dwelling units to the below poverty
line (BPL) rural households of SCs, STs and freed bonded labourer categories. Since 1993-94, the
scope of scheme was extended to cover the rural BPL from the non SC/ST categories also. In Bihar
on an average 70% of the funds were utilized for the period 2007-08 to 2011-12. Approximately
52% of the beneficiaries are SC & ST. table shown below lists out the details of status of Indira
Awas Yojana in Bihar.
Performance of the Indira Awas Yojana in Bihar
Year Annual Houses Completed Percentage of Fund
Physical Total SC & ST Utilization
Target
2007-08 NA 24740 13559 (54.8) 72.2
2008-09 567125 673658 (118.8) 394885 (58.6) 77.3
2009-10 1098001 645621 (58.8) 335675 (52.0) 69.5
2010-11 758904 529392 (69.8) 259867 (49.1) 66.4
2011-12 737486 450248 (61.1) 200393 (44.5) 68.02
Note: Figures in parentheses denote percentages with respect to previous column
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National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)

The Ministry of Rural Development has re-designed and re-structured the Swarnjayanti Gram
Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) into National Livelihood Mission (NRLM) as a cornerstone of national
poverty reduction strategy.
The objective of the Mission is to reduce poverty among rural BPL by promoting diversified and
gainful self-employment and wage employment opportunities which would lead to an appreciable
increase in income on sustainable basis.
Table 4.4 shown below indicates that for the period 2007-08 to 2011-12, out of total Self Help
Group economically assisted; almost 62% beneficiaries are women. Out of total Swarojgaris
economically assisted, about 24% are women. Apart from this, women constitute major part (about
70%) among total self-help group formed. These data reveal that women are getting benefits from
these kinds of schemes in Bihar.
For the same period, only 50% of the funds were utilized in Bihar. Therefore there is need to pay
attention to the expenditure part of these schemes, because statistics indicates that almost half of
the fund gets unutilized in Bihar.
Performance of the Swarnajayanti Gramin Swarojgar Yojna (SGSY) Programme (2007-08 to
2011-12)
Year No. of Members of No. of Individual No. of SHGs Formed Percentage of
SHGs Assisted for Swarojgaris Assisted Fund Utilization
Economic Activities for Economic
Activities
Total Women Total Women Total Women
43872 8120
2007-08 85355 18205 4007 (22.0) 14036 46.9
(51.4) (57.9)
69949 11791
2008-09 120402 4976 1281 (25.7) 20407 40.8
(58.1) (57.8)
98695 19073
2009-10 158061 6090 1266 (20.8) 30701 52.5
(62.4) (62.1)
120901 28576
2010-11 184225 15398 3937 (25.6) 31453 57.6
(65.6) (90.9)
91836 9297
2011-12 127567 8698 2122 (24.4) 12017 48.0
(72.0) (77.4)
Note: Figures in parentheses denote percentage
Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)

The Rajiv Awas Yojana was started in 2011 which envisages a “Slum Free India” with inclusive
and equitable cities in which every citizen has access to basic civic infrastructure, social amenities
and decent shelter.
RAY is to be implemented in a mission mode and will provide financial support to
States/UTs/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/Central Government Agencies, hereafter called
implementing agencies, for providing housing and improvement of basic civic infrastructure and
social amenities in each selected slums
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The scheme provides financial assistance to the states that are willing to assign property rights to
slum dwellers for provision of decent shelter and basic civic and social services for slum
redevelopment and for creation of affordable housing stock.
The scheme is expected to cover about 250 cities across the country by the end of 12th five year
plan (2017).
Conclusions
Development is a multi-dimensional concept and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) attempt
to make concerted efforts to make life better for people around the world especially of the poorest
ones living in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It went beyond the notion of economic growth
only. The United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals focus on democratically elected
Governments of developing countries and least developed countries to acknowledge basic human
needs and fundamental rights that every individual should be able to enjoy, such as freedom from
extreme poverty, hunger and malnourishment , access to quality education, better health service
and improved shelter, opportunity for productive, decent and environment friendly employment ,
the right to women for safe delivery without risking their lives and a world where women and men
live in equality and environment sustainability is accorded top priority. It relied on building a
global partnership for development with clear roles and responsibilities assigned to different
nations. The very first goal of MDG deals with eradication of poverty and hunger from the world.
The Government of India, in this regard, has launched several social sector schemes like
MNREGS, National Food Security Mission, and Integrated Child Development Service etc.
Because of these schemes, poverty and hunger drastically decreased in India. Poor states like
Bihar, Odessa, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh have witnessed decrease in poverty. In Bihar, poverty
decreased from approximately 63% in 1990 to 34% in 2012. However the rate of impact of these
social sector schemes are not at par with the targets envisioned by MDG, but socio-economic
status of poor section of the society improved up to quite extent.
References:
Nayyar, Rohini. Rural Poverty in India: An Analysis of Inter-State Difference. Bombay: Oxford
University Press, 1991.
Roberts, J. (2005), Millennium development goals: are international targets now more credible? J.
Int. Dev., 17: 113-129. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1180
Hazra, Anupam. India’s Social Sector and Millennium Development Goals: Issue, Challenged and
Policy Measures. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2013.
Goswami, P. K and B Chatterjee. “Poverty in Uttar Pradesh: An inter-regional study.” Journal of
Rural Development 28, no.1 (2009):101-121.
Central statistics office Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implantation. Millennium
Development Goals: State of India report 2010 by T.C.A Anant, Chief Statistician of India:
Government Printing Office, 2010
Institute for Human Development, United nations Developmet programme , Poverty in Bihar:
Pattern, Dimensions and Eradications Strategies. International Seminars. 19-20 April 2010, Patna.
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IRJMSH Vol 7 Issue 1 [Year 2016] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print)

Millennium Development Goals and Poverty in Bihar – A Regional

Map 1: Administrative Location Map of Bihar

Fighting Poverty and Hunger

Source: Planning Commission of India (GOI)

Source: NSSO (GOI)

For Bihar, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, GOB

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)

Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)

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