Lesson 3
Poverty as a challenge
Poverty
It is a situation where a person fails to attain the minimum basic needs such as
food, clothing, housing, health, education etc.
Every fourth person in India is poor.
260 million under this category
Issues related to Poverty
Landlessness
• Unemployment
• Size of families
• Illiteracy
• Poor health/malnutrition
• Child labour
• Helplessness
Dimensions of poverty
Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter.
It also is a situation in which parents are not able to send their children to
school
situation where sick people cannot afford treatment
Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities
lack of a regular job at a minimum decent level
Social scientists- View of Poverty
Methods to measure poverty
levels of income and consumption
illiteracy level,
lack of general resistance due to malnutrition
lack of access healthcare
lack of job opportunities
lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation etc
Social Exclusion
The poor having to live only in a poor surrounding with other poor people,
excluded from enjoying social equality of better -off people in better
surroundings
It is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from
facilities, benefits and opportunities that others (their “betters”) enjoy
Example: Caste system
Vulnerability
The greater probability of certain communities (say, members of a backward
caste) or individuals (such as a widow or a physically handicapped person)
of becoming, or remaining, poor in the coming years
They face difficulties during the time of Disasters
Poverty Line
A common method used to measure poverty is based on the income or
consumption levels
A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls
below a given “minimum level” necessary to fulfill basic needs
Poverty line may vary with time and place.
For example, a person not having a car in the United States may be
considered poor. In India, owning of a car is still considered a luxury
While determining the poverty line in India, a minimum level of food
requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical
requirement etc. are determined for subsistence
Poverty estimates
The poverty line is estimated periodically (normally every five years) by
conducting sample surveys. These surveys are carried out by the National
Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)
World Bank use a uniform standard for the poverty line: minimum
availability of the equivalent of $1 per person per day
Vulnerable Groups
Social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe households
the rural agricultural labor households and the urban casual labor households
recent studies have shown that except for the scheduled tribe households, all
the other three groups (i.e. scheduled castes, rural agricultural laborers and
the urban casual labor households) have seen a decline in poverty in the
1990s.
Apart from these social groups, there is also inequality of incomes within a
family. In poor families all suffer, but some suffer more than others.
Women, elderly people and female infants are systematically denied equal
access to resources available to the family. Therefore women, children
(especially the girl child) and old people are poorest of the poor
Inter-state Disparities
The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state.
poverty is still a serious problem in Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and
Uttar Pradesh
significant decline in poverty in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal
Punjab and Haryana have traditionally succeeded in reducing poverty
with the help of high agricultural growth rates
Kerala has focused more on human resource development
In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu public distribution of food grains
could have been responsible for the improvement.
The Reasons for Poverty in India
Climatic factors- Flood, Drought, cyclone etc..
Rapid growth of population
The size of family
Lack of motivation
Low agricultural productivity
Unequal distribution of fertile land
Lack of village industries
Lack of employment opportunities
Illiteracy
Joint family system
Growing indebtedness
Social customs- local festivals
Anti- Poverty strategies
The current Government strategy of poverty alleviation is based on two levels:
1. Promotion of economic growth
2. Targeted anti- poverty programmes
Promotion of economic growth
To increase per capita income
Increase agricultural production
Promote industries
Promote rural employment
Targeted anti- poverty programmes
NREGA- National Rural Employment Guarantee Act- 2005
NFWP- National Food For Work Programme- 2004
REGP-Rural Employment Generation Programme- 1995
PMRY- Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana- 1993
SGSY- Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yozana- 1999
Pradhan Manthri Gramodaya Yozana- 2000
Antyodaya Anna Yozana- AAY
Aims and Objectives of Targeted Anti- poverty programmes
Provide assured employment
Self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural
areas and small towns
Provide bank credit and government subsidy to Self Help Group
Central assistance for basic needs
Promote rural services like health, education, shelter, drinking water ,
sanitation and electrification.
