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SOCIOLOGY MAINS – Paper 2 – Part C – Challenges of Social Transformation – Chapter 7 – Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
GS 2 MAINS – Issues relating to poverty and hunger
WHAT IS POVERTY ?
- Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living.
- Poverty means that the income level from employment is so low that basic human needs can’t be met.
POVERTY LINE IN INDIA
- The poverty line defines a threshold income. Households earning below this threshold are considered poor.
- Earlier, India used to define the poverty line based on a method defined by a task force in 1979. It was based on expenditure for buying food worth 2,400 calories in rural areas, and 2,100 calories in urban areas.
- In 2011, the Suresh Tendulkar Committee defined the poverty line on the basis of monthly spending on food, education, health, electricity and transport. According to this estimate, a person who spends Rs. 27.2 in rural areas and Rs. 33.3 in urban areas a day are defined as living below the poverty line.
- The Rangarajan panel considered people living on less than Rs. 32 a day in rural areas and Rs. 47 a day in urban areas as poor.
REASONS FOR POVERTY
- Less productivity in agriculture.
- Increasing price rise.
- Unskilled workers and Unemployment.
- The caste system, inheritance law, rigid traditions and customs.
- Illiteracy.
- Lack of political will to correct the issue.
- Bureaucratic apathy in implementing schemes and policies.
- Uneven development plan leading to regional inequalities.
- Lack of Capital and Entrepreneurship.
- Frequent natural calamities like floods, landslides, etc.
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POVERTY STATISTICS
- In India, 21.9% of the population lives below the national poverty line in 2011.
- The 2019 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index published by the UN Development Program has estimated that multidimensional poverty in India has fallen by 27.5% between 2005-06 and 2015-16.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES TO FIGHT POVERTY
- Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – It unites schemes like Ujjwala yojana (provides LPG to BPL), access to toilets, water, drinking water facilities and Saubhagya Yojana (electricity).
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 – It provides 100 days of guaranteed employment to rural households. 1/3rd of the jobs reserved for women.
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana – It is a scheme aimed at the enhancement of skills based on the demand of the economy.
- Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) – Assistance to the rural poor in the form of subsidy and bank credit for productive employment opportunities.
- Annapurna Scheme – This scheme would provide 10 kg of free food grains a month for the eligible senior citizens.
- National Rural Livelihood Mission – Seeks to reach out to 8–10 crore rural poor households and organize them into SHGs and empower them for self-employment.
- Indira Awaas Yojana – Assistance to the BPL families who are either houseless or having inadequate housing facilities, for constructing a safe and durable shelter.
- Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana – It aimed at direct benefit transfer of subsidy, pension, insurance etc.