Poverty

Poverty means more than a lack of income: the poor often lack adequate food, shelter, clean water, sanitation, health care and education. The chapter describes the poor in rural areas (landless labourers, small farmers and artisans) and in urban areas (casual workers, street vendors and migrants). It also explains the idea of a poverty line, first discussed by Dadabhai Naoroji. The poverty line was originally based on the minimum calorie intake of 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,100 in urban areas, and later on consumption expenditure. The Tendulkar and Rangarajan committees later revised the method. You will learn to distinguish between absolute and relative poverty, chronic and transient poverty, and to measure poverty with the head count ratio. Causes include low productivity, unemployment, unequal land distribution and the colonial legacy. It explains India's three-pronged approach to removing poverty: growth-oriented development, specific poverty alleviation and employment programmes such as MGNREGA and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, and meeting minimum basic needs through the Public Distribution System, mid-day meals and rural housing.

Detailed Worksheet: Poverty Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What is meant by the poverty line? (2 marks) 2. Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty. (2 marks) 3. Distinguish between chronic and transient poverty. (2 marks) 4. What is the head count ratio? (2 marks) 5. What is the Public Distribution System? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. A village has 1,200 people, of whom 300 live below the poverty line. Calculate the head count ratio. If 60 people cross the poverty line in five years and the population stays the same, what is the new ratio? (3 marks) 7. Under the Tendulkar method, the poverty line for 2011-12 was about Rs 816 per person per month in rural areas and Rs 1,000 in urban areas. Calculate the monthly poverty line for a rural family of 5 and an urban family of 4. (3 marks) 8. In 2011-12, about 21.9% of India's population of 121 crore was below the poverty line under the Tendulkar method. Calculate the number of poor people in crore. Under the Rangarajan method the ratio was 29.5%; calculate the difference in the number of poor. (3 marks) 9. A rural worker earns Rs 250 a day for 15 days a month. Under MGNREGA he gets 100 days of work a year at Rs 250. Calculate his annual income before and after MGNREGA if both incomes add up. (3 marks) 10. The calorie norm is 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas. If a family of 4 consumes 8,000 calories a day, calculate the shortfall per person and in total. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a flowchart showing the causes of poverty in India. (4 marks) 12. Draw a bar diagram showing illustrative poverty ratios: 1973-74 55%, 1993-94 36%, 2004-05 27%, 2011-12 22%. (3 marks) 13. Draw a flowchart showing the three-pronged strategy of poverty alleviation in India. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. 'Growth alone cannot remove poverty.' Explain this statement in the light of India's experience with the trickle-down approach. (5 marks) 15. Explain the main features of poverty alleviation programmes such as MGNREGA, NRLM and PMEGP. Why have they had only limited success? (5 marks) 16. Why is the poverty line based on income or expenditure considered inadequate? Explain the multidimensional nature of poverty with examples. (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Show the steps of all calculations. Data marked illustrative are for practice only.