CHAPTER 3 - POVERTY AS A CHALLENGE (ECONOMICS CLASS 9)

1. Why do different countries use different poverty lines?

Each country uses different poverty lines because different countries' basic needs vary according to their social and economic situations. Because of the variable cost of living which varies from country to country different countries have different poverty lines.

2. What do you think would be the “minimum necessary level” in your locality?

The minimum necessary level is also called basic needs it attempts to define the minimum necessary resources for the physical well-being of a person usually in terms of consumption goods. Then poverty line in defined by the income that is required to satisfy those basic needs. The traditional list of basic needs include food, clothing and shelter. But a modern requirement of basic need includes a clean environment to live, health and education. The current poverty line is defined by person living below an income of rupees 1000 in rural areas and rupees 1200 in urban areas. 

3. Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India? 

Poverty is a state of being in which a person lacks the income (or other means of support) to reliably meet their basic personal needs, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Poverty exists in every country in the world, though it is a more pressing issue in some countries than in others. The poverty rate is the number of people (usually expressed as a percentage) in a given demographic group whose income falls below the poverty line.In 2021 Indian government has given an estimate of 11% of population below poverty line.

4. Do you think that present methodology of poverty estimation is appropriate? 

Incidence of poverty is estimated by the Planning Commission on the basis of the large sample surveys on household consumer expenditure conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) on a quinquennial basis.A common method used to estimate poverty in India is based on the consumption levels, Head Count Ratio, Calorie intake and if the income or consumption falls below a given minimum level, then the household is said to be Below the Poverty Line (BPL).

The present methodology of poverty estimation is in appropriate because it takes into account only the basic needs of food, clothing, fuel, etc. But the quality of these basic necessities is the lowest quality available, which is not appropriate.

5. Describe poverty trends in India since 1973? Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India? Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty in India.

There was a substantial decline in poverty ratios in India from about 55% in 1973 to 36% in 1993. (a) The proportion of people below poverty line further came down to about 26 % in 2000. (b) If the trend continues, people below poverty, line may come down to less than 20 % in the next few years. (c) Although the percentage of the people living under poverty declined in the earlier two decades (1973-1993) the number of poor remained stable around 320 million for a fairly long period. (d) The latest estimates indicate a significant reduction in the number of poor to about 260 million. 

The most important causes of Poverty in India are poor agriculture, growing Population, gap between rich and poor, corruption and black money. Poor agriculture: India is mainly an agricultural country. About 80% people of our country depend on agriculture. But our agriculture is in a bad way.The major cause of poverty is inequal distribution of land especially agricultural land there is class of population called landless labours, they come under the category of poor. Most of these people migrate to urban areas and work as casual labours.

(a) The social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households. (b) Similarly, among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural agricultural labour households and the urban casual labour households.

6. Give an account of inter- state disparities of poverty in India. 

The proportion of poor is not the same in every state. ... 

In 20 states and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average of 26. ... 

Among these, Orrisa and Bihar continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 47 and 43 per centres respectively.

 Describe global poverty trends.

In 2021 an estimated 698 million people, or 9% of the global population, are living in extreme poverty – that is, living on less than $1.90 a day. Over one-fifth of the global population live below the higher $3.20 poverty line (1,803 million people), and over two-fifths (3,293 million people) live below $5.50 a day.

According to World Bank, the countries with the highest poverty rates in the world are:
South Sudan - 82.30%
Equatorial Guinea - 76.80%
Madagascar - 70.70%
Guinea-Bissau - 69.30%
Eritrea - 69.00%
Sao Tome and Principe - 66.70%
Burundi - 64.90%
Democratic Republic of the Congo - 63.90%

Describe current government strategy of poverty alleviation? 

The current government strategy of poverty alleviation is based on two main pillars: Promotion of economic growth AND Targetted anti-poverty programs

Promotion of economic growth: India's economic growth has gained momentum since 1980 and from then it becomes one of the fastest in the world.

The growth rate almost doubled from the year 1970 to 1980-1990.

The higher growth rate has significantly helped in the reduction of poverty.

Economic growth strengthens people to help them to get rid of poverty

Targetted anti-poverty programs

these are the following schemes under the targetted anti-poverty programs.

1. National Food for Work Programme.
2. Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
3. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)
4. Rural Housing – Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)
5. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY)
6. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP)
7. Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY)
8. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

7. (i) What do you understand by human poverty? (ii) Who are the poorest of the poor? 

It refers to the denial of political, social and economic opportunities to an individual to maintain a reasonable standard of living Illiteracy, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to proper healthcare and sanitation, caste and gender discrimination, etc. are all components of human poverty.

Women children especially the girl child and elder people in a poor family are regarded as the poorest of the poor because they are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family.

8. What are the main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?

The main feature of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA) is as follow: It guarantees the 100 days of wage employment in the financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. In this scheme, one-third of the proposed job will be reserved for women.

Poverty: According to the world bank. Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity.

Poverty Line: The conventional approach to measuring poverty is to specify a minimum expenditure (or income) required to purchase a basket of goods and services necessary to satisfy basic human needs and this minimum expenditure is called the poverty line.

Poverty Line Basket: The basket of goods and services necessary to satisfy basic human needs is the Poverty Line Basket (PLB).

Poverty Ratio: The proportion of the population below the poverty line is called the poverty ratio or headcount ratio (HCR).