Introduction

• Poverty can be defined as lack of daily requirements of livelihood like food,

clothing, education etc.

• The poor could be landless labourers in villages or people living in

overcrowded jhuggis in urban areas.

• Every 4th person in India is poor. India has the largest single concentration of
the poor in the world.

Poverty as seen by Social scientists

(i) Social Exclusion

(ii) Vulnerability

• Social exclusion: For analysis of poverty, social exclusion is very useful. As per
this concept poverty must be seen in terms of the poor liviving only in a poor
surrounding with other poor people.

• Vulnerability: Vulnerability describes the greater probability of being more

adversely affected than other people, which is done due to earthquake or simply
a fall in the availability of jobs.

• Measurement of vulnerability to poverty describe the greater probability of

certain communities i.e., members of a backward caste or individuals i.e. a widow
or a physically handicapped person.

• Poverty Line: Poverty line is a way which is used to identify the poor. It is a
method used to measure poverty. In this method poverty is measured with the
help of consumption and income level of the people.

• If the level of income and consumption falls below the minimum level of income
and consumption of this line, then the person is considered to be poor.
Poverty Estimates

• Economic Survey 2011–12, Ministry of Finance, Government of India

The poverty ratio in the year 1973 is 55 per cent and 30 per cent in 2009-10
which shows decline in the poverty ratios. Poverty ratios further came down to
about 26 per cent in 2000 and 36 per cent in 1994.

Therefore, the poverty ratio is continuously decreased from 1974 to 2000.

Vulnerable Groups

• In India, proportion of people below poverty line is also not same for all social
groups and economic categories.

• Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households are vulnerable to poverty in

social groups.

• In same direction rural agricultural labour households and the urban casual
labour households are vulnerable to poverty in economic categories.
Causes of Poverty

(i) Low growth rate

During the British colonial administration, the rate of growth was very low which
was the basic cause of poverty.

(ii) Discouragement of development of industries and handicrafts Products

• Discouragement of development of industries and handicrafts Products is one

historical reason of poverty. The policies of the colonial government discourage
development of industries, like textile industries which is the basic source of
income of the poor. An uneducated person can easily get job in this type of
industries as labour and sustains his livelihood.
(ii) High growth rate of population
The population is increasing instead of low level of income. Which becomes cause of poverty.

(iii) Huge income inequalities

There are huge income inequalities between have or have not. For this term, huge income
inequalities makes it difficult to properly implement the poverty elimination policies of
government. Therefore , it is the major cause of poverty.

(iv) Lack of land resources

Lack of land resources is the also major cause of poverty. Incomes of the villagers are fully based
on agriculture income and lack of land resources creates low level of agriculture income which
becomes the major cause of poverty.

Anti-Poverty Measures

• Anti-poverty strategy of the government is based broadly on two plank:

(i)Promotion of economic growth

(ii)Targeted anti-poverty programmes

(i)Promotion of economic growth

• According to official poverty estimation, the growth rate jumped from the average of about 3.5
percent a year in the 1970s to about 6 percent during the 1980s and 1990s. With the help of high
rate of growth, reduction of poverty is possible.
• It shows a link between poverty reduction and economic growth. Therefore, promotion of
economic growth helps to reduce poverty.

(ii)Targeted anti-poverty programmes

• National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)

It was launched in September 2005 and it provides 100 days assured employment every year to
every rural household in 200 districts. Later, the scheme will be extended to 600 districts. One
third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for women. In this Act if an applicant is not
provided employment within fifteen days, then he/she will be entitled to a daily unemployment
allowance.

• Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana (PMRY)

Prime Minister Rozgar Yozana (PMRY) was launched on 2nd October, 1993. The objective of the
programme is to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural
areas and small towns. It also helped in setting up small business and industries.

• Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)

This programme was launched on 1 st April, 1999. The objective of this programme is to help
rural people to organise themselves into self help groups by the way of promoting enterprises at
the village level. This programme helps to exist poor families above the poverty line. In this
programme the government provides subsidy and bank credit to the rural people for generating
the income.

• Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP)

This programme was launched in 1995. The target of this programme is to provide 25 lakh new
jobs to the rural and small towns persons under the Tenth Five Year plan.
• Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yozana (PMGY)

This programme was launched in 2000. The objective of this programme to develop standard of
living of the rural people by the way of focus in five critical areas i.e primary health, primary
education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.

• Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana (SGRY)

This programme was launched in september , 2001.The Employment Assurance Schemes and
JGSY would be merged with SGRY.The aim of the programme is to provide wage employment
and to create durable community, social and economic assets.

The Challenges Ahead

• Poverty reduction remains India’s most compelling challenge despite the progress. Because of
unequal distribution of income, increase in population etc.

Unemployment: Unemployment is a situation where a person have not job despite of he/she able
to do job. It is a big cause of poverty.

• Child labour: Child labour is a situation where a child is employed for earning money. Which is
mentally, physically and socially dangerous and harmful for the children.

• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 defines a child as any person who has
not completed his fourteenth year of age.

• According to International labour Organization (ILO), the term ‘child labour’ is often defined
as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is
harmful to physical and mental development.

• Illiteracy: Illiteracy is the condition where a person unable to read and write. In India Illiteracy
is a major problem of poverty.