Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India PDF

The Independent Commission on Development and Health in India
Poverty
Alleviation
Programmes
in India
Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India
Concept
Alok Mukhopadhyay
Principal Researher & Author

Neepa Saha
Independent Commission on Development and Health in India

New Delhi
Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India i

Advisor
Ruhi Saith
Assisted by
Sudeshna Sengupta
Copy editor
Vijaya Ghose
Acknowledgement
Information Division,VHAI
Design & Pagelayout

Brajagopal Paul
Subhash Bhaskar
Production
Development Communications Division
Printed at
VHAI Press
ISBN: 81-88973-86-6
Voluntary Health Association of India, 2005

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Reproduction, adaptation and translation is authorised worldwide for non-profit educational activities
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ii Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Foreword
Voluntary Health Association of India facilitated the setting up of the Independent Commission on Health in
India in 1995, renamed as the Independent Commission on Development and Health in India, as a peoples
initiative to assess the current health and development status and facilitate the process of need based and
people-centric, sustainable development and health. Through analysis of existing data and in-depth study
the Commission, consisting of distinguished persons from the health and development sectors, identifies
the maladies affecting the present health care system and development programmes and provides clear
recommendations for future action.
The first Report of the Commission was released in 1998 by the Prime Minister and was also presented to
the President of India. The Report was widely distributed, discussed and debated in different fora, including
the Parliament, the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the Planning Commission. In many ways the report
has influenced current thinking on various issues of public health including the National Health Policy and
the National Population Policy.
The first Report was a summarised version of voluminous reports prepared by the Commission over two
long years of painstaking but rewarding process. Some of the significant chapters were published as separate
monographs.
The second Report of the Commission particularly addresses the issues of Poverty Alleviation and Governance
of Social Sector. This is particularly keeping in mind the poor performance of the Nation in both these areas.
Besides these core areas ICDHI will also research on following areas of current concern:
1. Revamping and Re-energizing of Primary Health Care
2. Private Sector in Health Care and Medical Ethics
3. Human Resource Development in Health Care.
4. Health Sector reforms and external assistance for health
5. Role of Indian Systems of Medicine in strengthening health care practices.
6. HIV/AIDS and Reproductive and Child Health.
This monograph is an endeavour to analyse the nature of poverty in India in its various dimensions, particularly
emphasising its social underpinnings, and Government initiatives to alleviate rural poverty. It discusses at
length the various schemes and programmes, formulated by the Government for poverty alleviation, and the
nature of public spending on poverty alleviation, and also attempts a critique of the same. Despite an array
of poverty alleviation programmes, with a considerable amount of budgetary support, India is far away from
reaching a comfort level as far as the performance of these programmes is concerned. While assessing the
implementation and impact of the poverty alleviation programmes in India as well as the current scenario as
reflected in the Tenth Five Year Plan the monograph seeks to chart out the priority areas for future, which
deserves focused attention of both the Government and voluntary sector.
I thank Neepa for her painstaking work in putting together this important publication on an issue of national
importance.
Alok Mukhopadhyay
Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India iii

Contents
Foreword iii
1. Introduction 1
2. Incidence of Poverty 3
3. Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 6
4. Discussion of the Impact of Public Interventions against Poverty 13
5. Discussion of Public Spending on Poverty Alleviation 17
6. Current Scenario 20
7. Role of the Voluntary Sector in Poverty Alleviation 26
8. Globalisation, Liberalisation and Poverty 29
9. Conclusion 32
10. Appendix 35
11. References 39
iv Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

1. Introduction
Poverty is an unacceptable human condition that the total, 193 million poor about 75 per cent of
does not have to be inevitable. The main goal of the total poor live in rural areas.The poor are also
development is to eliminate poverty and reduce concentrated mostly in backward regions like dryland,
social imbalances. Sustainable economic growth and rainfed and drought prone, tribal, hill and desert areas.
appropriate social policies are keys to fighting poverty. The concentration of the poor continues to be more
At the same time, reducing poverty helps growth by among weaker sections of society particularly among
enabling the poor to participate productively in the SCs, STs, and backward classes.
economy. Yet economic growth by itself does not
guarantee success in eradicating poverty. Other Such a vast size of the rural population below the
important dimensions of poverty, such as quality of poverty line does have a telling effect on the country
life and participation in decision-making, need to be and its economy. It amounts to great wastage and
addressed. underutilization of the human resources.There is also
a great burden on the economy in terms of recurring
Poverty goes beyond lack of income. It is relief investment at the time of drought, floods,
multidimensional, encompassing economic, social cyclone, etc. since the poor are the most vulnerable
and governance perspectives. Economically, the poor to natural calamities. It also affects greatly the
are not only deprived of income and resources, but of potential for saving of the economy for productive
opportunities. Markets and jobs are often difficult to investment. Poverty also breeds many socio-cultural
access, because of low capabilities and geographical problems, which are to be tackled separately. It also
and social exclusion. Limited education affects their affects the image of the nation globally.
ability to get jobs and to access information that could
improve the quality of their lives. Poor health, due Growth with Social Justice has been the basic
to inadequate nutrition and health services, further objective of the development planning in India
limits their prospects for work and hampers them since independence, which have led to significant
from realising their mental and physical potential.This changes. Some of these changes are distinctly visible
fragile position is exacerbated by insecurity. Living in especially in the economic sphere with the adoption
marginal conditions with no resources to fall back of new technologies, diversified production, and
on, shocks become hard or impossible to offset.The sophisticated management. Changes have also taken
situation is made worse by the structure of societies place in the social sphere with affirmative action
and institutions that tend to exclude the poor from for disadvantaged communities, with the weakening
participating in decision-making that affects social of untouchability and caste discrimination, and with
and economic development. women enjoying by and large more freedoms than
ever before. On the political front, India has remained
It is a point of concern that over a quarter of the a vibrant democracy with increased participation by
worlds poor are concentrated in India. An estimate women and men in political decision-making.
by the Planning Commission (1999-2000) shows
that more than 260 million people continue to live In terms of achievements, however, Indias performance
Below the Poverty Line (BPL), which is about 26 per during the last 50 years has been decidedly mixed.
cent of the countrys population. There is still a high India today remains a country of stark contrasts
concentration of the poor in the rural areas. Out of and striking disparities. Some states and districts of
Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 1

India report levels of social advancement similar to poverty situation. There has been an attempt to
leading industrialised countries. Other parts of the trace Government poverty alleviation measures since
country report achievement levels that are worse Independence as reflected in the Five-Year Plans and
than the average of the poorest countries in the the various poverty alleviation programmes.Through
world. Women fare worse than men on most social a discussion of the evaluations of public interventions
indicators. against poverty and public spending on anti-poverty
programmes, the performance of the Government
India has always had the intention to eradicate over the years has been assessed. The contribution
poverty. It is one of the few issues on which there of the voluntary sector in poverty alleviation has
exists a strong political consensus. The real issue is also been looked into. The current focus of the
not the intent but the nature of public action. Much Government with regard to poverty alleviation and its
of it has been guided by displaced concerns and commitment to the Millennium Development Goals
misplaced priorities. Despite the strong articulation can be seen in the Tenth Five-Year Plan. The impact
of a multidimensional view of human poverty, India of globalisation and liberalisation on poverty has also
has been overwhelmingly concerned with income been analysed. Having looked into the achievements
poverty. and shortcomings of the poverty alleviation efforts
of the Government and the challenges ahead, there
This paper seeks to focus on the nature of poverty has been an attempt to indicate the trajectory of
in India and Government efforts to tackle the future priorities and course of action.
2 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

2. Incidence of Poverty countries. In spite of the general improvement in
growth the pace of poverty reduction has slowed
down in most countries in the region in recent years.
2.1 Poverty in South Asia (Poverty and Vulnerability in South Asia, The World
Bank, June 2002)
South Asia is home to the largest number of the
worlds poor. While the incidence of poverty as 44 per cent of the population of India lives below
defined by head-count ratio has shown some decline the international US$ 1/day poverty line. In Nepal,
in all South Asian countries over the years, a sizeable Pakistan and Bangladesh the figures are also
proportion of the population in all the countries still relatively high (at 38 per cent, 31 per cent and 29
live in poverty. In spite of a reasonable growth over per cent respectively affects The Chronic Poverty
the recent decade, per capita GNP (with Purchasing Report, 2004-05). Internationally, South Asia has the
Power Parity or PPP) of all countries and for the worst indicators of stunting and female illiteracy
region as a whole remains low and is but a small and very poor rates of child mortality and female
fraction of that of middle-income countries. For a illiteracy. In terms of Human Development Index
majority of countries in the region, average annual (HDI), India is ranked 127th in the 2004 Human
growth of GNP (at PPP) over the period 1989-99 has Development Report, with a value of 0.595 while
been higher than that in 1979-89, and has surpassed Maldives ranks first in the region, with a value of
average rates for low-income and middle-income 0.752.
Summary of poverty indicators for South Asia

Table 1
Per- Average Under- Infant Pro- Life Life Adult Adult
cent- depth five mortal- portion expec- expec- illiteracy illitera-
age of of pov- mortal- ity rate of chil- tancy tancy rate cy rate
people erty (the ity rate (per dren (female), (male), (female) (male)
living number of (per 1000 under 2000 2000 2000 2000
on less percent- 1000 live 5 who
than age points live births) are
US$ by which births) 2000 stunted
1/day the poor 2001
fall below
the pov-
erty line)
Afghanistan - - 257 165 52 - - - -
Bangladesh 36 22.5 77 54 44.8 59.5 59.4 70.1 47.7
Bhutan - - 95 77 40 63.3 60.8 54.6 31.6
India 44.2 27.1 93 69 45.5 63.8 62.8 - -
Maldives - - 77 59 26.9 65.8 67.3 3.2 3.4
Nepal 37.7 25.7 91 72 54.1 58.3 58.8 76 40.4
Pakistan 31 20 109 85 - 59.9 60.2 72.1 42.5
Sri Lanka 6.6 15.2 19 17 17 75.3 69.5 11 5.6
Regional
40.7 26.1 98.1 72.4 45.5 63 62.2 57.3 33.9
average
Source:The Chronic Poverty Report, 2004-05

2.2 Poverty in India Development progress has been varied in India.
After the setback associated with the 1991 balance
In India, there is a significant but incomplete overlap of payments crisis, economic growth picked up,
of areas with the highest poverty rates and those income poverty continued to decline, and many social
with the lowest human development indicators, and indicators, in particular literacy, continued to improve.
of poor regions, states and districts. At the regional Economic growth slowed after 1997/98, from an
level, the marginality of central and eastern India annual average of 6.7 per cent between 1992/93
is explained largely by adverse agrarian relations. and 1996/97 (Eighth Plan period), to 5.5 per cent
Poverty has persisted in these regions despite good between 1997/98 and 2001/02 (Ninth Plan). Growth
endowment of natural resources and a relatively slowed further in 2002/03, to an estimated 4.4 per
strong focus of Indian development planning on cent due to the impact of poor rains on agricultural
backward areas. output. And fiscal performance deteriorated at the
centre and in the states, while rising deficits and
Over 70 per cent of Indias poor reside in six worsening public expenditure compositions limiting
states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, the prospects for accelerating growth and poverty
Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa (including reduction.
the new states of Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and
Chattisgarh). In four of these states Bihar, Social progress in India has been uneven. Education
Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, plus indicators have improved markedly, but progress
Assam, persistently high levels of poverty in in health has been mixed. For the first time since
excess of 30 per cent have occurred for several independence, the absolute number of illiterates in
decades (Mehta and Shah 2003). India declined between 1991 and 2001. Literacy rates
Macroeconomic trends over the past two decades

Table 2
1992/93- 1997-98- 2002/
1980s 1990s
1996/97a 2001/02b 2003c
GDP growth (% a year) 5.6 5.8 6.7 5.5 4.4
Agriculture, forestry, and Fisheries 3.4 3 4.7 1.8 -3.1
Industry 7.0 5.8 7.6 4.5 6.1
Services 6.9 7.6 7.5 8.1 7.1
Investment rate (% of GDP) 22.0 23.0 23.3 22.5 22.1
Private 10.0 7.8 8.0 6.6 6.3
Public 12.1 15.2 15.3 15.9 15.7
Inflation (Wholesale Price Index, % a year) 8.0 8.1 8.7 4.9 2.5
General government deficit (% of GDP) 8.1 7.8 7.2 9.3 10.4
Current account balance (% of GDP) -2.1 -1.4 -1.2 -0.7 1.0
External reserves (months of goods and services
3.3 5.6 5.9 7.0 11.0
imports, end of period)
a. Eighth Plan period b. Ninth Plan period c. Estimated

Source: Central Statistical Organisation

rose, particularly for women. Health indicators in the rates and in addressing malnutrition. Many of these
1990s improved slowly or, in some cases, not at all. outcomes have to do not only with health policy but
But there has been little progress in reducing Indias also with slow progress in improving access to safe
high maternal mortality and under-five mortality water and sanitation.
Progress on Social Indicators, 1980-2000

Table 3
Indicator 1980s 1990s 2000
Poverty
Poverty incidence (%) 44.5 36.0 26.1
Adjusted poverty incidence (%) n.a. n.a. 28.6
Demographics
Population (millions) 685 846 1,027
Rate of population increase (%) 2.4 2.2 n.a.
Overall sex ratio, ages 0-4 (females per 1,000 males) 978 955 927
Education
Overall literacy rate: 7+ years (%) 44 52 65
Female literacy rate as a percent of male literacy rate (%) 53 61 71
Net enrollment rate (NER): lower primary (%) n.a. 71 77
Net enrollment rate (NER): upper primary (%) n.a. 70 74
Female NER as % of male NER: lower primary (%) n.a. 84 90
Female NER as % of male NER: upper primary (%) n.a. 78 86
Dropout rate, grades 1-5 (%) 54 45 40
Health
Life expectancy at birth (years) 56 60 61
Infant mortality rate 0-4 years (per 1,000 live births) 115 79 68
Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 152 94 95
Maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births) n.a. 424 540
Malnourished children, ages 0-3 (%) n.a. 53 47
Prevalence of HIV (million people) n.a. 3.5 4.0
Sanitation
Share of people with access to improved water resources (%) n.a. 68 78
Share of households with toilet facility (%) n.a. 30 36
Notes: Poverty estimates are for 1983, 1993/94 and 1999/2000. Demographics and literacy rates are for 1981, 1991 and 2001. Enrolment rates
are for 1981, 1991 and 2000. Dropout rates are for 1982, 1993 and 1999. Health and sanitation data are for 1992/93 and 1998/99.
HIV prevalence is for 1998 and 2001. Improved water resources defined as access to piped drinking water and handpumps.
Sources: Poverty-India, Planning Commission based on National Statistical Survey; Deaton 2002. Demographics-India, Office of the Registrar General
1981, 1991, 2001. Education national Statistical Survey; India, Office of the Registrar General 1981, 1991, 2001; India, Department of
Education. Health-India, Office of the Registrar General 1981, 1991, 2001; National Family Health Survey, Sample Registration System. HIV-
National AIDS Control Organisation. Sanitation-India, Office of the Registrar General 1981, 1991, 2001; National Family Health Survey.

3. Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India
3.1 Historical background By the late 1960s the second phase of Poverty
Alleviation Programme (PAP) started with measures
that promised to address directly and exclusively the
Much before poverty alleviation was put on the
poor in the rural areas. This target-group oriented
development agenda of developing countries and
approach started with the programme for backward
multilateral and international aid agencies, leaders of
regions, graduated to the programme for the
the independence movement in India had accorded it
development of small and marginal farmers, landless
the status of one of the primary national objectives.
labourers, etc. and finally culminated in the Integrated
There are various reasons for Indias commitment
Rural Development Programme and National Rural
to poverty eradication. The most important among
Employment Programme. The distinguishing feature
these is the nature of the national struggle, which led
of the poverty alleviation programme during this
to independence.The mainstream political movement
phase was the emphasis on creating employment
in India was profoundly influenced by the Gandhian
opportunities and distributing renewable assets
approach, which emphasised the need to uplift the
among the poor. Heavy emphasis was also placed
social and economic status of the poorest of the
during this phase of PAP on transfer of income to
poor or antyodaya. Emphasis on an egalitarian
the poor in indirect ways, e.g., through food subsidies
social order was reflected in the policy documents
and dual pricing of essential commodities.
produced by the Indian National Congress. Most
notable among these was the report of the National
In the third the latest phase starting from the
Planning (Kumarappa) Committee. Drawing from
beginning of the 1990s, emphasis has shifted to
the experience of a large number of experiments
measures aimed at accelerating economic growth
in rural development involving local communities,
and on creating an environment for ensuring a spread
the Government of India soon after independence
effect. In keeping with Indian traditions, lip-service is
launched the Community Development Programme
continued to be paid to structural change, as much
(CD) to rejuvenate economic and social life in rural
as to the target-group oriented programmes, but the
areas. The emphasis was on infrastructure building
dominant thought is to create more wealth to enable
at the local level and investment in human resource
the poor to benefit from the secondary effects of
development through the provision of education and
growth which, it is presumed, will percolate down
health services.
and reach the poor.
The frontal attack on poverty was pursued in three

successive phases. In the first phase, lasting from the 3.2 Measuring Poverty Poverty
beginning of the 1950s till the end of the 1960s, the Line
major emphasis was on redistribution of land and
improving the plight of poor tenants, on abolition A number of terms have been used to identify
of functionless intermediaries, on tenancy reforms those who experience poverty most intensively
culminating in the principle of land to the tiller, on ultra poor, extreme poor, hardcore poor, destitute,
imposing ceilings on large holdings, sequestering poorest of the poor, and declining poor. There is a
surplus land and redistributing it among the landless broad agreement that poverty occurs when someone
agricultural labourers and marginal farmers. experiences a fundamental deprivation a lack

of some basic thing or things essential for human The concept of Poverty Line in India was introduced
well-being. Until the 1990s, poverty was considered on the recommendation of the Task Force on
mainly in material terms as low income or low Minimum Needs and Effective Consumption
levels of material wealth. More recently, vulnerability Demands in 1979.The contribution of the Task Force
and multi-dimensional deprivation, especially of basic was to estimate daily per capita calorie requirement
capabilities such as health and education, have been separately for rural and urban areas on the basis
emphasized as key aspects of poverty. of age, sex and activity-specific calorie allowance
recommended by the Nutrition Expert Group
Poverty may be measured either in relative or in (1968).Accordingly, norms of nutritional requirement
absolute terms depending upon whether it is related for the rural and urban sectors were obtained as
to the relative or the absolute concept of deprivation. 2435 K-cal and 2095 K-cal respectively.
This involves some element of arbitrariness for
making it operational. In the absolute concept, The official approach to measurement of poverty,
some absolute norm of income or consumption therefore, started by fixing a standard of calorie
that determines the cut-off point or the line of intake and observing the level of per capita
demarcation between the poor and the non-poor consumption expenditure with which on the average,
is laid down and all persons below that line are this calorie intake level is associated.An allowance for
considered as poor. The concept of relative poverty non-food consumption also exists in the delineation
is related to inequality. Thus, whereas an absolute of the poverty line though not on normative basis
poverty viewpoint defines poverty as the inability of but on a behavioural basis. The poverty line at
an individuals income to meet subsistence needs, a 1973-74 (base year) prices for the rural and urban
relativist viewpoint defines poverty as a situation in sectors was worked out as Rs. 49.09 and Rs. 56.64
which an individuals income is low relative to some respectively utilizing National Sample Survey (NSS)
social standard. data on consumer expenditure and using inverse
interpolation method. The poverty line so defined
Poverty reflects the deficiencies in the essential was updated over time by taking care of change in
requirements of individuals. It refers to a situation the price levels.
in which the overall needs of an individual are not
satisfied due to lack of adequate purchasing power. The Planning Commission constituted an Expert
Poverty is not directly associated with regular cash Group in 1989 to look into the methodology of
income flow. On the other hand it is associated poverty estimation at national and state levels and
with the actual consumption of the household or also to go in to the question of redefining the poverty
the individual or household. Thus, consumption line. The group in their report submitted in 1993
expenditure is considered to be more appropriate recommended:
and relevant than income for the purpose of i. Abandonment of NSS-NAS (National
a directional idea on the level of poverty. The Accounts Statistics) adjustment procedure.
procedure followed is to define or fix a poverty line ii. Derivation and application of state specific
in terms of overall monthly per capita consumption poverty lines as against an all India poverty
expenditure, to update the same over time for price line for rural and urban areas for working
change employing price deflator and finally measuring out state-specific poverty estimates and its
the dimension of poverty in absolute terms utilizing aggregation to derive national level poverty
the size distribution of Consumer Expenditure. estimate.

iii. Use of state-specific cost of living indices for Employment (TRYSEM), Development of Women
updating the poverty line separately for rural and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), Supply of
and urban areas. Improved Tool Kits to Rural Artisans (SITRA) and
Ganga Kalyan Yojana (GKY) were introduced as
The Planning Commission (1997) has accepted the sub-programmes of IRDP to take care of the specific
recommendations made by the Expert Group in needs of the rural population. These schemes were,
working out the poverty estimates for rural and however, implemented as stand alone programmes,
urban areas at the state level and its aggregation at an approach which substantially detracted from their
the national level. However, the constitution of the effectiveness.
poverty line shows that the Government is primarily
concerned with income poverty. On April 1, 1999, the IRDP and allied programmes,
including the Million Wells Scheme (MWS), were
Much of the theoretical debate on the measurement merged into a single programme known as
of poverty has been on poverty measures rather Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).
than on the poverty line. While there has been The SGSY is conceived as a holistic programme
considerable discussion on whether the poverty of micro enterprise development in rural areas
line should reflect an absolute or relative view with emphasis on organizing the rural poor into
of poverty, the literature is relatively thin on how self-help groups, capacity-building, planning of
to update the poverty line to account for inflation activity clusters, infrastructure support, technology,
and changing consumption patterns and ensuring credit and marketing linkages. It seeks to promote
its accuracy in terms of the original definition. With a network of agencies, namely, the District Rural
inflation and changing consumer preferences, the Development Agencies (DRDAs), line departments
official poverty line in India that was anchored on of state governments, banks, NGOs and Panchayati
the minimum energy requirements three decades ago, Raj Institutions (PRIs) for implementation of the
has ceased to be an accurate, or even a reasonable, programme.The SGSY recognizes the need to focus
indicator of the cost of acquiring the minimum energy on key activities and the importance of activity
requirement. clusters. The programme has in-built safeguards for
the weaker sections. It insists that women must
3.3 Anti-Poverty Programmes exclusively form 50 per cent of the self-help groups
and that 50 per cent of the benefits should flow to
under the Five-Year Plans SCs and STs. There is also a provision for disabled
beneficiaries.
3.3.1 Integrated Rural Development
Programme/ Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar 3.3.2 Wage Employment Programmes
Yojana
Wage Employment Programmes, an important
Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), component of the anti-poverty strategy, have
introduced in selected blocks in 1978-79 and sought to achieve multiple objectives. They not
universalized from October 2, 1980 has provided only provide employment opportunities during
assistance to the rural poor in the form of subsidy lean agricultural seasons but also in times of
and bank credit for productive employment floods, droughts and other natural calamities. They
opportunities through successive plan periods. create rural infrastructure which supports further
Subsequently, Training of Rural Youth for Self economic activity. These programmes also put an

upward pressure on market wage rates by attracting season. The works taken up under the programme
people to public works programmes, thereby were expected to lead to the creation of durable
reducing labour supply and pushing up demand for economic and social infrastructure and address
labour. While public works programmes to provide the felt-needs of the people. The EAS is a centrally
employment in times of distress have a long history, sponsored scheme, with the Centre providing 75
a major thrust to wage employment programmes in per cent of the funds and the states 25 per cent.
the country was provided only after the attainment The zilla parishads and panchayat samitis were the
of self-sufficiency in food grains in the 1970s. The implementing agencies.
National Rural Landless Employment Programme
(NREP) and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee 3.3.2.3 Food for Work Programme
Programmes (RLEGP) were started in the Sixth and The Food for Work programme was started in
Seventh Plans. 2000-01 as a component of the EAS in eight notified
drought-affected states of Chattisgarh, Gujarat,
3.3.2.1 Jawahar Rozgar Yojana/ Jawahar Gram Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan,
Samriddhi Yojana Maharashtra and Uttaranchal.The programme aims at
The NREP and RLEGP were merged in April 1989 augmenting food security through wage employment.
under the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY). The JRY Food grains are supplied to states free of cost.
was meant to generate meaningful employment However, lifting of food grains for the scheme from
opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns has been
in rural areas through the creation of economic slow.
infrastructure and community and social assets. A
major proportion of JRY funds were spent on roads 3.3.2.4 Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)
and buildings. Over 47 per cent of the employment Given the complementarity of the JGSY, EAS and
generated benefited SC/STs. Food for Work Programme, all of which aim at the
creation of employment opportunities in rural areas,
The JRY was revamped from 1 April 1999 as the they were revamped and merged under the new
Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojana (JGSY). It became Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) scheme
a programme for the creation of rural economic from September 2001. The basic aim of the scheme
infrastructure with employment generation as a continues to be generation of wage employment,
secondary objective. The 60:40 wage labour/material creation of durable economic infrastructure in rural
ratio in the JRY was relaxed. The programme is areas and provision of food and nutrition security
implemented by village panchayats and provides to the poor.
for specific benefits to SC/STs, the disabled and
provides for the maintenance of community assets 3.3.3 Rural Housing
created in the past.
Initiated in 1985-86, the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) is
3.3.2.2 Employment Assurance Scheme the core programme for providing free housing to
The Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) was BPL families in rural areas and targets SC/STs and
launched on October 2, 1993 covering 1,778 freed bonded labourers. It was first merged with the
drought-prone, desert, tribal, and hill area blocks. JRY in 1989 and then spun off into a separate housing
It was later extended to all the blocks in 1997-98. scheme for the rural poor in 1996. The Ninth Plan
The EAS was designed to provide employment in Housing Programme under IAY was framed in the
the form of manual work in the lean agricultural light of the National Housing and Habitat Policy 1998,

which set an ambitious target of providing shelter for 3.3.5 Land Reforms
all in the rural areas by the end of the Plan period.
Land reforms, as a programme for ushering in a
The Housing and Urban Development Corporation just social order was an important item on the
(HUDCO) has extended its activities to rural areas, national agenda even before independence. As a
providing loans at a concessional rate of interest to poverty alleviation measure, the main emphasis of
economically weaker sections and low-income group land reforms until recently was on redistributive
households for construction of houses. HUDCOs policies. The successive lowering of the ceiling on
rural housing programme was given a major boost agricultural holdings (which was first introduced
in the Ninth Plan. in the mid-1950s) in the early 1960s and again
in the early 1970s was aimed at sequestering the
3.3.4 Social Security Programmes surplus land and redistributing it amongst landless
rural households or those who cultivated marginal
Democratic decentralization and centrally supported holdings.
Social Assistance Programmes were two major
initiatives of the government in the 1990s. The Successive Five-Year Plans have addressed the issue
National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), of secure rights in land for increased agricultural
launched in August 1995 marks a significant step productivity under the land reforms programme. Land
towards fulfillment of the Directive Principles of State reform legislations, besides abolishing intermediaries
Policy. The NSAP has three components: and providing ownership rights to farmers, also
provided for security of tenure to tenants and
National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) regulation of rent. Actual cultivators were brought
into a direct relationship with the State. The
National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) abolition of intermediaries succeeded in providing
ownership rights to a large number of tenants. The
National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS) advent of the green revolution technology coupled
with schemes of asset transfer under IRDP have
The NSAP is a centrally sponsored programme that contributed significantly to increased incomes not
aims at ensuring a minimum national standard of only from agricultural operations but also on account
social assistance that states provide from their own of diversification into animal husbandry.
resources. The NOAPS provides a monthly pension
of Rs. 75 to destitute BPL persons above 65 years.The A land record management system is a pre-condition
NFBS is a scheme for BPL families who are given Rs. for an effective land reform programme. In 1987-88,
10,000 in the event of the death of the breadwinner. a centrally sponsored scheme for Strengthening
The NMBS provides Rs. 500 to support nutritional of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land
intake for pregnant women. Records (SRA &ULR) was introduced in Orissa and
Bihar. The scheme was extended to other states
The coverage of NSAP is limited due to resource in 1989-90. Survey and re-settlement operations,
constraints. In addition to NSAP, the Annapurna pre-service and in-service training to revenue and
scheme was launched from April 1, 2000 to provide settlement staff, facilities for modernization of
food security to senior citizens who were eligible for survey and settlement operations and strengthening
pension under NOAPS but could not receive it due of revenue machinery at the village level are funded
to budget constraints. under the scheme. In addition to SRA & ULR, a

centrally sponsored scheme of Computerisation of specified areas and other non-institutional training
Land Records (CLR) provides assistance to states programmes. Other objectives of the scheme are:
for modernization of record keeping operations. setting up District Institutes of Education and Training
(DIETs) to provide academic and resource support
3.3.6 Public Distribution System to elementary school teachers and non-formal and
adult education instructors; and establishment of
The Public Distribution System (PDS) in the country Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs) and Institutes
facilitates the supply of food grains to the poor at a of Advanced Studies (IASs) for pre-service and in-
subsidised price. With a network of more than 4.62 service training for secondary school teachers. The
lakh fair price shops (FPS) distributing commodities scheme also envisages strengthening State Councils of
worth more than Rs. 30,000 crore annually to about Educational Research and Training (SCERT); orienting
160 million families, the PDS in India is perhaps the teachers in the use of Operation Blackboard material;
largest distribution network of its kind in the world. and implementation of Minimum Levels of Learning
The PDS in its original form was widely criticized (MLL) strategy.
for its failure to serve the BPL population, its urban
bias, negligible coverage in the states with highest 3.3.7.3 District Primary Education Programme
concentration of the rural poor and lack of delivery. (DPEP)
Realising this, the Government streamlined the DPEP, launched in 1994, is assisted by the World Bank,
system by issuing special cards to BPL families and European Commission, Department for International
selling food grains under PDS to them at specially Development (DFID) of UK, the Netherlands and
subsidised prices with effect from June 1997. This is UNICEF. It aims at operationalising the strategies
known as the Targeted Public Distribution System for achieving Universalisation of Elementary
(TPDS). This was expected to benefit about 60 Education (UEE) through district-specific planning
million poor families. The identification of the poor and disaggregated target-setting in low female literacy
is done by the states. The emphasis is on including districts and builds on the successful Total Literacy
only the really poor and vulnerable sections of the Campaign (TLC) which has created a favourable
society. climate for universalisation.
3.3.7.4 Shiksha Karmi Project and Lok Jumbish

3.3.7 Education Programmes
Project in Rajasthan
Two externally aided projects for basic education
3.3.7.1 Operation Blackboard
are the Shiksha Karmi and Lok Jumbish projects in
The Operation Blackboard scheme, started in 1987-
Rajasthan. Both are innovative projects aimed at the
88, aimed at improving the classroom environment by
universalisation of elementary education together
providing infrastructural facilities, additional teachers
with a qualitative improvement in remote and
and teaching-learning material to primary schools and
socially backward villages with a primary focus on
provision of a third teacher to schools.
gender. There is a special emphasis on community
3.3.7.2 Restructuring and Reorganisation of Teacher participation in these projects. The Village Education
Education Committees (VECs) have contributed a great deal
The scheme of Restructuring and Reorganisation of to the improvement of the school environment,
Teacher Education started in 1987, aims to strengthen augmentation of infrastructure and facilities, larger
the institutional base of teacher training by taking enrolment of children through school mapping and
up special programmes for training of teachers in micro-planning in the Shiksha Karmi schools.

3.3.7.5 Mahila Samakhya programme support to the ongoing efforts
Another externally assisted programme with a towards achieving UEE.
specific focus on gender is Mahila Samakhya started
in 1989 in five States. It aims to promote womens 3.3.7.9 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
education and empowerment of women in rural Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was launched towards the
areas, particularly women in socially and economically end of the Ninth Plan to achieve the goal of UEE
marginalized groups. through a time-bound integrated approach, in
partnership with states.The programme, which aims
3.3.7.6 Mid-Day Meal Scheme to provide elementary education to all children in
The National Programme of Nutritional Support to the 6-14 age group by 2010, is an effort to improve
Primary Education, commonly known as the Mid-Day the performance of the school system and provide
Meal programme, was launched in 1995. It aims to community-owned quality elementary education
give a boost to universalisation of primary education in the mission mode. It also envisages bridging of
by increasing enrolment, retention and attendance gender and social disparities at the elementary level.
and simultaneously improving the nutritional The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has a special focus on the
status of students in primary classes. Under the educational needs of girls, SCs and STs and other
scheme, cooked meals are served with calorie value children in difficult circumstances.
equivalent to 100 gm of wheat or rice per student per
school day. The Mid-Day Meal scheme was initiated 3.3.8 Integrated Child Development
in Tamil Nadu. Services
3.3.7.7 Non-Formal Education (NFE) and EGS & AIE Integrated Child Development Services Programme
The non-formal education (NFE) scheme (ICDS) is considered the largest child welfare
introduced in 1977-78 on a pilot basis and programme in Asia and probably the largest in the
expanded in subsequent years, focused on out-of- world.Targeted at marginalized and neglected groups,
school children in the 6-14 age group who have the objectives of the programme include: improving
remained outside the formal system due to socio- the nutritional and health status of children; reducing
economic and cultural reasons. The programme mortality, morbidity and malnutrition; reducing the
was revised and renamed the Education Guarantee rate at which children drop out of school due to
Scheme and Alternative and Innovative Education health reasons; and providing health education to
(EGS & AIE) in 2000. It provided for opening EGS enhance the ability of the mother to make correct
schools in habitations where there are no schools choices for her childrens health, etc. Immunisation
within a radius of one km. of the mother and child; supplementary nutrition
to pregnant and lactating mothers and their
3.3.7.8 Janshala (GoI-UN) Programme children; providing referral services, and non-formal
This programme is a collaborative effort education are some of the services provided under
of the Government of India (GoI) and five ICDS. Launched in 1975 with 33 projects on an
United Nations (UN) agencies UNDP, experimental basis, ICDS has expanded considerably
UNICEF, UNESCO, ILO and UNFPA. It provides in subsequent years.

4. Discussion of the Impact of Public Interventions
against Poverty
The overwhelming attention paid to measuring and and decline in growth and stabilization measures.
monitoring income poverty has resulted in a gross However, by 1993-94 the incidence of poverty had
neglect of other serious forms of human deprivation. fallen to 35 per cent. Despite these successes, over
Some of these deprivations are loud and visible 310 million people were living in poverty in 1993-94
child labour, illiteracy, damaged environments. Others 50 per cent more than the poor in sub-Saharan
are largely silent but visible caste discrimination, Africa.
discrimination against women and girls, and child
prostitution. Many other forms of deprivation are, to A wide disparity in poverty across Indian states and
this day, silent and invisible.These include for instance their uneven progress in poverty reduction is a key
issues of womens health, domestic violence, and child feature of the evolution of poverty in India. In most
malnutrition. These deprivations are not related to instances, better-off states remained relatively affluent
income or income poverty levels in any predictable and reduced poverty, while poorer states remained
manner. For instance, Haryana is one of the richest poor and made less progress in poverty reduction,
and fastest growing states in terms of per capita but there are also cases where poorer states made
income, yet infant mortality rate of Haryana is 62, major progress in poverty reduction and growth. In
which is more than six times higher than in income- Kerala, for example, rural poverty declined at 2.4 per
poorer Kerala (SRS Bulletin 2002). And women in cent per annum between the early 1970s and early
Haryana suffer systematic deprivation that gives them 1990s. Other states where poverty incidence fell
one of the lowest sex ratios in the country 861 substantially include West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh,
per 1000 males (Census 2001). Orissa, and, to a lesser extent, Gujarat and Tamil
Nadu. Notably poor performers include Bihar and
Since Independence, Indian governments have Uttar Pradesh.
accorded great importance to poverty reduction.
Poverty reduction has been a major goal of all
Five-Year Plans. India has reduced the percentage
4.1 Evaluation of Anti-Poverty
of population living in poverty since the 1970s but Programmes
progress has been uneven over time and across
states and the number of poor has continued to 4.1.1 IRDP/ SGSY
rise, albeit at a slower rate. From 1951-55, the
average headcount index of poverty was 53 per cent. Implementation of the programme between 1999-
From 1973-74 to the mid 1980s, poverty incidence 2000 and 2001-02 has highlighted many areas of
declined fairly steadily to 38 per cent in 1986-87, concern.While the IRDP concentrated on individual
a decline of about 2 per cent per annum. Poverty beneficiaries, the SGSY laid greater emphasis on
reduction slowed in the late 1980s but the PDS and social mobilisation and group formation. However,
anti-poverty programmes kept poverty from rising. the DRDAs responsible for administering the
Poverty incidence dropped sharply in 1990 but could programme did not have the requisite skills in social
not be sustained. In 1991-2, a transitory worsening of mobilisation. Linkages with NGOs, which could have
poverty incidence occurred with the 1991 BOP crisis facilitated this process, were also not in place. The

programme, therefore, suffered in the initial years. The various works undertaken created demand for
Central releases were substantially lower than the unskilled labour and exerted upward pressure on
allocation as the field offices were not in a position wage rates.
to organise self-help groups, which could be provided
financial assistance. Credit mobilization also suffered 4.1.3 Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)
in the process.
An evaluation of the IAY shows that while the
4.1.2 Wage Employment Programmes programme has certainly enabled many BPL families
to acquire pucca houses, the coverage of the
4.1.2.1 JGSY beneficiaries is limited given the resource constraints.
The works taken up under JGSY have not been In addition, there has also been high level of leakages
comprehensively evaluated for their quality and with a large number of non-eligible beneficiaries
employment potential. Initial reports from the states, getting houses. The fact that houses are provided
however, indicate that since every village panchayat free of cost under IAY has meant that there has
has to be covered by the scheme, many panchayats been virtually no progress in the other sub-schemes
get less than Rs. 10,000 per annum. Except for states of IAY such as credit-cum-subsidy scheme for rural
like Kerala, west Bengal and Orissa, where village housing.
panchayats cover large areas and get substantial funds
under the scheme, in other states most panchayats 4.1.4 Land Reforms
get less than Rs. 50,000 per annum. Benefits to the
SC/STs and the disabled have to be earmarked. In an economy where over 60 per cent of the
In addition, the administrative expenses of the population is dependent on agriculture, the structure
panchayat and expenditure on assets already created of land ownership is central to the well being of the
are to be met from JGSY funds. In effect, panchayats people. The government has striven to change the
are left with very little money to take up meaningful ownership pattern of cultivable land, but has had
infrastructure projects. limited success. Except for one or two states, e.g.,
West Bengal and Kerala, this programme did not have
4.1.2.2 Employment Assurance Scheme any remarkable impact on poverty. For the country as
Though the creation of community assets has a whole the picture that was obtained suggests that
important spin offs for rural poverty and development, the land declared surplus was much less than what
the impact of these programmes on employment and was anticipated; land acquired was much less than
income has been limited. The universalisation of the land declared surplus; land distributed among
the scheme severely eroded its basic objective of landless labourers and marginal farmers was much
providing assured employment in areas of extreme less than the land acquired; and land which could
poverty and chronic unemployment.Allocations were actually be cultivated was much less than the land
based on a fixed criterion that did not specifically acquired. Leakage at every step was glaring and the
provide for regionally differentiated needs.This led to reasons for this are also well known.
a very thin spread of resources across the country. In
spite of their many shortcomings, wage employment The lowering of concentration of land among
schemes have proved beneficial in some respects. the large landholders was not because of either
They created much-needed rural infrastructure.The effective implementation of land reforms by state
programmes are self-targeting in nature since only bureaucracies, or the organization of the intended
the poor come to work at minimum wage rates. bureaucracies. However, redistributive land reforms

did contribute directly or indirectly to stopping per cent at present.The high carrying cost of stocks
the process of proletarianisation, in halting further in excess of the buffer norms pushes up the food
expansion of large holdings, and in contributing to subsidy bill and actually amounts to subsiding the
the emergence of a middle peasantry. cereals producers/surplus farmers. Under the TPDS
though there is a clear indication of improvement at
In regard to the impact of tenancy legislation, after the the national level, the situation is not uniform across
initial shuffle in the countryside, when a large number states and there are certain states where conditions
of tenants were evicted from land by landowners on need to be improved.
the plea of resuming land for self-cultivation, things
have started settling down. Even when allowance is A serious contention has been that due to PDS,
made for concealed tenancy, the area under tenancy prices of commodities in the open market would be
has declined, but those tenants who could formalise higher than in a situation where PDS is not operating.
their tenancy agreements could be assured of As a consequence, the poor are the net losers if
legislative protection against eviction and enhanced they have to take recourse to the market for the
rents. After the initial unsettling phase, most of the bulk of their purchases. The weighted average price
states have had a better record in tenancy protection for purchases from PDS and from the open market
compared to their performance in implementation would be unfavourable to them. The implication
of ceiling legislation.West Bengal has a most credible of this finding is not to dispense with PDS, but to
record in this respect. enable the poor to obtain all, or nearly all, of their
requirements of essential commodities. A corollary
Land reforms seem to have been relegated to the to this strategy is to discourage universal coverage
background in the 1990s. More recently, initiatives of by the PDS.
state governments have related to liberalisation of
land laws in order to promote large-scale corporate 4.1.6 Education
farming. Though the pressure of population has led
to sub-division and fragmentation of land holdings, The 1990s could be called the watershed decade
thereby considerably weakening the case for further as far as basic education is concerned. Provisional
lowering of land ceilings, the need for effective results of the 2001 Census show the highest jump
implementation of the existing land ceiling laws of 13.17 per cent in the literacy rate since 1951, with
cannot be over-emphasized. The case of tenancy the average literacy rate going up from 52.21 per
reforms is equally unsatisfactory. The progress on cent in 1991 to 65.38 per cent in 2001. (The male
the consolidation of land holdings has also been literacy rate is 75.85 per cent and female literacy
slow. Alienation of tribals from their land is a major rate is 54.16 per cent.)
issue in tribal areas.
However, Indias educational development is a mixed
4.1.5 Public Distribution System bag of remarkable successes and glaring gaps. Out of
200 million children in the age group of 6-14 years,
All is not well with PDS. The annual food subsidy 42 million children do not attend schools.There are
involved in maintaining the system is huge. The level problems relating to high drop out rates, low-levels
of food subsidies as a proportion of total government of learning achievement and low participation of
expenditure has gone up from a level of 2.5 per girls. Coupled with this are various systemic issues
cent or below in the early 1990s to more than 5 like inadequate school infrastructure, high teacher

absenteeism, large-scale teacher vacancies, inadequate utilized by only 30 per cent of expectant mothers in
equipment like teacher-learning material, etc. non-ICDS areas, the corresponding figure for ICDS
areas was 50 per cent.The difference was even more
The policy focus and public intervention in pronounced in tribal areas: the percentage of LBW
provisioning of educational services has not been babies in ICDS areas was 43.3 as against 80 per cent
given the attention it deserves. Even after 50 years in non-ICDS tribal areas.
of planned effort in this sector nearly one-third of
the population or close to 300 million persons in the However, critics of existing evaluation studies
age group 7 years and above are illiterate.The literacy argue that considering the large budget for ICDS
rates for the SC and ST population are much lower interventions and the manpower and infrastructure
than the rest of the population.As against the overall available to the scheme, the difference between
literacy rate of 52.2 per cent in 1991, the literacy indicators in ICDS areas and non-ICDS areas is
rate for SCs and STs was only 37.4 per cent and negligible. Critics also argue that the indicators
29.6 per cent respectively. There is also rural urban related to morbidity have been analyzed only in
variation in the literacy rates (59 per cent in rural relation to ICDS presence and not in relation to
areas as compared to 80 per cent in urban areas as other, very significant and influential variables.
per 2001 census). In addition, the inter-State variation
in literacy rates also persists. Of serious concern is a 2001 report by the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which
4.1.7 Integrated Child Development highlights the failure of the ICDS to supply therapeutic
Services food in nine states because severely malnourished
children were not identified. The report also noted
A number of studies have been undertaken to look that in a majority of the states there was no supply of
into the effectiveness and performance of the ICDS. Vitamin A solution and iron and folic acid tablets from
These have revealed that ICDS operational areas 1992 to 1999. In Tamil Nadu, the percentage shortfall
are characterized by a better utilization of services, in coverage of children for the first dose of Vitamin A
and a significant improvement in health indicators. ranged from 56 per cent to 75 per cent and for the
An evaluation by the National Institute of Public second dose, from 79 per cent to 93 per cent. For a
Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) programme of such dimensions and importance, this
revealed that while health services were being state of affairs is unacceptable.

5. Discussion of Public Spending on Poverty
Alleviation
Public expenditures have played an important role The size of Government spending matters, but
in Indias income poverty reduction. The period so does the efficiency of such spending. Leakage,
from mid 1970s to the end of the 1980s when corruption and inefficiency in management are
income poverty showed marked reduction was frequently reported. Nevertheless, even with a
also a decade when public expenditures rose poor record in programme implementation, states
phenomenally. This also corresponded to a period that have invested heavily in poverty alleviation
when Government introduced several new poverty programmes seem to do distinctly better in
alleviation programmes. There was an increased income poverty reduction. Thus, an enormous
political commitment to poverty eradication, which potential exists for accelerating income poverty
was backed by an increased allocation of resources reductions with improvements in the efficiency of
and by a set of new pro-poor policies. Nationalised spending. Improving the design, administration and
commercial banks were required to assign 40 management of poverty alleviation programmes is
per cent of their lending to priority sectors urgently required. With such improvements, overall
small farmers, small businesses, and artisans. government expenditures are likely to have larger
New employment-creation and asset generation multiplier effects and India could witness a more
programmes for income poverty reduction were rapid reduction in income poverty.
introduced. As a result, rural non-agricultural
employment increased substantially, and real wages
went up sharply. But most important, between 1976 5.1 Public spending and rural
and 1990, real per capita development expenditure poverty
increased at an annual rate of 6 per cent per annum
compared with only a 3 per cent growth in real Although a large literature exists to explain changes
GDP per capita. In fact, the steep rise in government in Indias rural poverty, little attention has previously
spending contributed to fiscal crisis that necessitated been paid to the role of government spending in
economic reforms in 1991. On the other hand, alleviating poverty. Government expenditure has not
after economic reforms were introduced, real only contributed to agricultural growth and hence
Government expenditure per capita fell 15 per indirectly to poverty alleviation, but it has directly
cent during 1990-93, but increased again by 6 per created rural non-farm jobs and increased wages.
cent in 1993-94. Income poverty too worsened in The real significance of government development
the initial years of the reforms but in 1994, showed expenditure lies in the fact that it imparts a greater
improvement. amount of trickle-down benefits for the poor in the
growth process than agricultural growth alone. Unlike
Government expenditures appear to have strong agricultural growth, which often reduces poverty
trickle down characteristics, much more distinctly only by increasing mean consumption, government
than income growth. Practically all states that have expenditure reduces poverty by increasing both
succeeded in reducing poverty have made sizeable mean income and improving the distribution of
investments in poverty alleviation programmes. income (Sen 1997).

Effects of Government Spending on Rural Poverty
Govt. Spending
Health Education Infrastructure Technology Poverty

Alleviation
Agricultural Productivity
Wages Non-Agricultural Landless Prices

Employment
Other Exogenous variables:

Population growth
Rural Poverty
Annual rainfall
Time trend
Figure 1
Source: IFPRI Research Report 110
Government expenditure in India is divided into Total state government expenditure increased
non-development and development spending, and the fivefold in real terms over the period 1970 to
latter is further subdivided into spending on social 1990. But the rate of increase has slowed in recent
and economic services. Social services include health, years. After growing at about 8 per cent per year
labour, social welfare and other community services, during the 1970s and 1980s, it slowed to 3.14 per
while economic services include such sectors as cent per year in the early 1990s. Development
agriculture, industry, trade and transportation. expenditure has followed a similar pattern, though
Most expenditure on agriculture and rural areas is the recent drop in the rate of increase is more
undertaken by the state governments. In addition to dramatic, from 13 per cent in the 1970s to 7 per
expenditures financed from the states own revenues, cent in the 1980s, and only to 1 per cent in the
the states are also conduits for most of the central early 1990s. Within development expenditure,
governments expenditure on agriculture and rural expenditure on social services grew the least in
development. the 1990s (only 0.42 per cent per year, compared

with about 9 per cent in the 1970s and 1980s). of the total development expenditure, respectively
Expenditure on education also grew at a low rate (or 35 per cent and 40 per cent of total state
in the 1990s (0.22 per cent per year, compared government expenditure in rural areas).
with 7 to 8 per cent during the 1970s and the
1980s. Expenditure on irrigation also grew at a Since 1980, agricultures share in total state
very low rate in the 1990s, only 0.12 per cent per expenditure on economic services has declined
year. from 30 per cent to 20 per cent, and irrigations
share has also declined. In contrast, expenditure
The expenditure items that grew most rapidly on rural development programmes has expanded
during the period 1970-93 were welfare and rural from 6.3 to 16.4 per cent of total economic
development. The growth in rural development services, causing some concern that resources
expenditure (consisting of wage employment have been reallocated away from productivity-
schemes and integrated rural development enhancing investments to those that have a much
programmes) was particularly rapid; it is the one smaller impact on agricultural productivity and
item that continued to grow at a respectable 5.1 production growth.
per cent per year even during the early 1990s.
Large regional variations exist in government
In terms of composition of state government expenditure. In per capita terms, poorer states
spending, development of expenditure accounted like Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar
for 75 per cent of total government expenditure in Pradesh and West Bengal spend much less than
1993, and the remaining 25 per cent went to non- more advanced states like Gujarat, Haryana,
development expenditure. Social and economic Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. The difference
services accounted for 47 per cent and 53 per cent between these two groups is substantial.

6. Current Scenario
6.1 Strategy of the Tenth Five- Group formation would continue to be the focus
under SGSY. The self-help groups move through
Year Plan various stages: social mobilization and formation of
groups (initial phase); savings and internal lending
The essence of the Tenth Plan is to change the role among the members of the group on their own,
and improve the effectiveness of government, so augmented by revolving fund grants from the
as to better support the private sector and ensure government and linkages with banks and other credit
widespread improvements in well-being.The strategy agencies (second phase); obtaining micro finance
has four core components. (third phase) and setting up of micro enterprises
First, governance and service delivery are to be (fourth phase).
improved. Greater reliance is to be placed on the
private sector and on public sector reforms to The SGSY programme is intended to provide
deliver accountability, reduce opportunities for benefits to SCs and STs, disabled and women-
corruption and improve the speed and effectiveness headed households forming the bulk of the rural
of government at all levels. poor. However, these sections would be excluded
Second, poverty is to be reduced, particularly in the from the ambit of the programme if they were not
lagging states, through the implementation of policies listed in the BPL census conducted at the beginning
that encourage growth, employment generation and of every Five-Year Plan for inclusion of beneficiaries
access to elementary education (especially for girls) under different government programmes. Strong
and to primary health care (especially for women). linkages and networks would be established with
NGOs and financial institutions like the Small
Third, the growth rate is to be increased, including Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI),
through greater public investments. National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development
Finally, improvements in infrastructure and the (NABARD), Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK), etc. under
productive base are at the heart of the Tenth Plan. SGSY. These organizations would act as self-help
promotion institutions and would ensure a continuing
The Approach Paper to the Tenth Five Year Plan has relationship with self-help groups.
set a growth rate target of 8 per cent during the
Plan period.The projected GDP growth rate for the Micro level planning process would have to be
period 2002-07, if achieved, would lead to reduction strengthened in the districts for the programme to
of incidence of poverty by 5 percentage points by succeed. In this endeavour, the involvement of PRIs,
2007. The various poverty alleviation programmes banks, micro finance institutions, NGOs and district
under the Tenth Five-Year Plan have been enumerated level officers of different departments would have
below: to be ensured. They would have to work in close
coordination in the preparation of a District Plan for
6.1.1 Self Employment Programmes activities under SGSY. Training programmes would
be organised for upgrading skills of beneficiaries
The formation of self-help groups by itself contributes selected under the programme. A system of credit
to the empowerment and economic well being of the would have to be put into place, which is flexible and
poor by improving their collective bargaining position. responsive to the financial needs of the poor and is

capable of supplying timely and adequate credit.The The SGRY would have three streams. One to
inadequacies of formal credit institutions could be address the need for rural infrastructure in all states;
overcome by combining the strength of commercial the other to provide focused attention to areas
banks with the intermediation capabilities of NGOs facing poverty while the third would respond to
to effectively link the poor with commercial banking natural calamities. The general stream universalized
channels. It would be the Governments endeavour across states would be for the creation of local
to leverage funds under different self-employment infrastructure. Water tanks, anganwadis, primary
programmes to enable the rural poor to diversify school buildings, sanitation facilities, primary health
into non-agricultural activities. centres, multi-purpose community halls and other
projects required in the village would be taken up
Provision would have to be made for the creation of under the universal stream.
infrastructure either under SGSY or by convergence
with the other sectoral programmes and to ensure The second stream would seek to provide an
that the missing infrastructure is provided at the employment guarantee of at least 100 days for
planning stage itself. Marketing strategy has also areas facing chronic unemployment and poverty.
been recognized as an integral part of every self- Districts and blocks would be selected on the basis
employment venture. Rural haats or village markets of an objective criterion and efforts would be made
have to be set up to position the products of self- to create at least minimum infrastructure in these
help groups. Suitable linkages between the rural areas by ensuring convergence of other government
enterprises and technological institutions would programmes.
be developed so that technological assistance can
be extended to the self-help groups. The SGSY The third stream would be an enabling mechanism
programme would continue to promote land-based for the Government to respond to natural calamities
activities for individual and group beneficiaries in such as floods, droughts, earthquakes and other
the backward regions. Diversification into other contingencies that require quick response to mitigate
land-based activities such as sericulture, aquaculture, the hardships faced by people.
horticulture and floriculture would be encouraged.
The programme would, therefore, support the A specific proportion of allocations under SGRY
purchase of land and its distribution to the landless would be used for the maintenance of village
poor.Women swarozgaris would be sole owners or assets. PRIs would play a major role in the planning,
joint owners of redistributed land. implementation and monitoring of wage employment
programmes and allocations under the SGRY would
6.1.2 Wage Employment Programme be routed through them. A rational criterion would
have to be evolved for distribution of funds between
The SGRY would be the single wage employment the three tiers of the PRIs to ensure balanced
programme. Allocations to the programme would development of villages, blocks and districts.
be stepped up. The programme would seek to
provide productive employment opportunities in 6.1.3 Rural Housing
employment-intensive sectors. The Government
would endeavour to generate a shelf of projects During the Tenth Plan period, free houses under IAY
for execution under SGRY that fits into the overall would be provided largely to SC/ST BPL families. For
development plan of an area. other BPL families, there would be a gradual shift to a

credit-linked housing programme.The need to create The influx of non-tribals into tribal areas as
institutional capability in the rural housing sector a result of various developmental projects,
with reference to designing of houses, supply of raw exploitation of natural resources and industrial
materials and construction has been recognized. activities has led to the alienation of tribal land.
Rural communities have to be involved in the layout Among other reasons, improper land records
and design of the houses. The houses should have have facilitated alienation. Concealment of land,
provisions for rainwater harvesting, water supply which has hampered the land reforms programme,
and sanitation. has been due to the lack of a comprehensive
land rights database. The CLR and SRA & ULR
6.1.4 Social Security Schemes schemes have placed emphasis on modernization
of cadastral survey procedures and strengthening
While the NSAP and state-level welfare schemes of training facilities for revenue, survey and
have provided some succour to the poor by way of settlement staff. Provision of computers and
assistance to the old and the bereaved, a large section other infrastructure has been made under these
of people have not been covered under the schemes schemes. This process will be carried forward
because of limited resources.The NSAP needs to be more vigorously in the Tenth Plan not only to
enlarged in scope to cover all eligible beneficiaries. detect concealment of land but also to reduce
The content and coverage of social welfare schemes scope for litigation in rural areas.
would have to be strengthened during the Plan period
to provide meaningful protection to the poor.
6.1.6 Public Distribution System
6.1.5 Land Reforms
While the provision for food subsidy is made in
Agricultural workers have neither assets nor skills to the non-plan budget of the Central Government,
participate in the limited but emerging employment the Planning Commission provides funds under
opportunities in different sectors of the economy. its Plan programmes for the following schemes
Horticulture, floriculture and vegetable cultivation to strengthen the operational machinery of
on small plots of land, including homestead lands, the PDS: construction of godowns; purchase
have proved beneficial for the poor. Agricultural of mobile vans/trucks; and training, research
labourers, therefore, need to be provided access and monitoring. The godowns scheme was
to land to improve their economic and social well intended to assist State Governments and Union
being. During the Tenth Plan period, states have to Territories in the construction of small godowns
concentrate on the detection of concealed land and of up to 2,000 tonnes capacity. The mobile vans
strive for the speedy disposal of cases so that the scheme provided financial assistance for the
land acquired under ceiling laws becomes available purchase of mobile vans/trucks for distributing
for distribution to the poor. Changes in the agrarian essential commodities in rural/hilly/remote and
economy warrant a fresh look at tenancy laws. States other disadvantaged areas where it is not feasible
are at different stages of agricultural transformation. or viable to set up regular Fair Price Shops
Patterns of semi-feudal agriculture in some states (FPS). The training scheme aims at strengthening
co-exist with corporate and commercial farming and upgrading the skills of personnel managing
practices in others.Therefore, the tenancy laws need the PDS and to improve the management of
to be revisited. supplies.

6.1.7 Education programmes 6.1.8 Delivery Mechanism
6.1.7.1 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Poverty alleviation programmes have been designed
This will totally subsume all existing programmes,
to address different facets of rural poverty. An
barring the mid-day Meal scheme and the scheme
effective delivery system has to ensure peoples
of Restructuring and Reorganisation of Teachers
participation at various stages of the formulation and
Education.
implementation of the programmes, transparency
in the operation of the schemes and adequate
Objectives of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan:
monitoring.The increasing integration of India in the
All children to be in schools, Education
global economy, the budget constraints faced by both
Guarantee Scheme centres, alternate schools,
central and state governments and inefficiencies in
back-to-school camps by 2003
the administrative structure led to the development
All children to complete five years of primary
of a consensus to devolve powers to local institutions
schooling by 2007
to enable peoples participation in administration.
All children to complete eight years of
The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments that
schooling by 2010
conferred statutory status on PRIs and urban local
Focus on elementary education of satisfactory
bodies did not have only democratic decentralization
quality with emphasis on education for life
as their objective.These institutions were also seen as
Bridge all gender and social disparities at
a process for harnessing and channelising the peoples
the primary stage by 2007 and at the upper
innate abilities to bring about rural transformation in
primary level by 2010
a way that every individual acquired his/ her rightful
Universal retention by 2010
place in the social, economic and political arena.
6.1.7.2 Gender-Specific Programmes
The Tenth Plan would also rely on some women- The strengthening of forces that facilitate political
centric programmes such as the existing Mahila empowerment of rural communities would be
Samakhya, and two new schemes, the Kasturba an important area of action in the Tenth Plan
Gandhi Swatantra Vidyalaya (KGSV) and the National period. Issues of transparency, accountability and
Programme for the Education of Girls at the development would require greater attention. States,
Elementary Level (NPEGEL). Mahila Samakhya will be which have lagged behind in devolving functions and
expanded both in terms of geographical reach and finances to panchayats, would have to be encouraged
activities like the Mahila Shikshan Kendras. to empower the panchayats.The gram sabhas in most
states have been entrusted with only ceremonial
6.1.7.3 Mid-Day Meal Scheme functions. The power and functions of gram sabhas
A Supreme Court order in 2001 made it obligatory need to be enlarged by giving them effective powers
for states to provide cooked meals instead of dry of implementation and monitoring of developmental
rations within the stipulated time frame, under the plans. Social audit of all development programmes by
Mid-Day Meal scheme. Further, in order to achieve the gram sabha would be mandatory.The committee
the goals set in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme, system adopted in many states to facilitate a
modifications would be made in the scheme in the more participative decision-making process in the
light of feedback gained from the working of the panchayats should be incorporated in the State
scheme, and the opinion of experts. Panchayat Acts.

Administrative and financial devolution by the states 6.2 Seeking to address the
to the PRIs remains an area of major concern.
Financial devolution is also desirable as the control Millennium Development Goals
of investment decisions by local communities leads
to better utilization of scarce resources. Panchayats In September 2000, world leaders adopted the UN
would need greater powers of taxation and avenues Millennium Development Goals, committing their
for non-tax revenue. Apart from funds that flow to nations to stronger global efforts to reduce poverty,
panchayats for centrally sponsored and state sector improve health and promote peace, human rights
schemes, untied grants could also be provided to and environmental sustainability. The Millennium
the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The PRIs Development Goals that emerged from the
need to raise resources from the local community Millennium Declaration adopted by 189 countries
and end their dependence on government funds. are specific, measurable targets, including the one
The onus of devolving functions, functionaries and for reducing - by 2015 the extreme poverty that
financial resources to the PRIs rests with the state still grips more than 1 billion of the worlds people.
governments. PRIs have to be trained in planning, These Goals, and the commitments of rich and poor
budgeting and accounting tasks.An elaborate system countries to achieve them, were affirmed in the
for auditing of panchayat finances has to be put in Monterrey Consensus that emerged from the March
place. 2002 UN Financing for Development conference,
the September 2002 World Summit on Sustainable
The delivery of programmes would improve only if Development and the launch of the Doha Round on
the PRIs emerge as strong players in the social and international trade.
economic life of the country. NGOs and other civil
society organizations can facilitate the evolution of The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
PRIs as institutions geared to promote the well being address many of the most enduring failures of
of the rural poor. human development. The Goals and the promotion
Status of Millennium Development Goals in South Asia

Table 4
Proportion of Popula- Ratios of Girls
Under-Five Mor- Infant Mortality
Country tion Below $1 Per to Boys
tality Rate (per Rate (per 1000 live
Day at 1993 Purchase (Primary Educa-
1000 live births) births)
Power Parity (%) tion)
Early Late
1990 2000 1990 2001 1990 2001
1990s 1990s
Afghanistan - - 0.52 0.47 260 257 167 165
Bangladesh 35.9 29.1 0.81 0.92 144 77 96 51
Bhutan - - 0.74 0.82 166 95 107 74
India 52.5 44.2 0.71 0.81 123 93 84 67
Nepal 37.7 - 0.56 0.72 145 91 100 66
Pakistan 47.8 31 0.48 0.55 128 109 96 84
Sri Lanka 4 .0 6.6 0.93 0.94 23 19 20 17
Not available
Source: ESCAP and UNDP, Promoting the Medium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific, 2003

of human development share a common motivation points by 2007 and 15 percentage points by
and reflect a vital commitment to promoting human 2012
well being that entails dignity, freedom and equality Providing gainful and high-quality employment
for all people. The MDGs are as follows: at least to the addition to the labour force
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger over the Tenth Plan period
2. Achieve universal primary education All children in school by 2003, all children to
3. Promote gender equality and empower complete 5 years of schooling by 2007
women Reduction in gender gaps in literacy and wage
4. Reduce child mortality rates by at least 50 per cent by 2007
5. Improve maternal health Reduction in the decadal rate of population

growth between 2001 and 2011 to 16.2 per
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other cent
diseases
Increase in literacy rates to 75 per cent within
7. Ensure environmental sustainability the Tenth Plan period
8. Develop a global par tnership for Reduction of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) to
development 45 per 1000 live births by 2007 and to 1 by
In the Tenth Five Year Plan the Planning Commission 2012
has outlined Indias human development goals and All villages to have sustained access to potable
targets for the next 5-10 years, which seeks to drinking water within the Plan period
address the MGDs. The targets are as follows: Cleaning of all major polluted rivers by 2007
Reduction of poverty ratio by 5 percentage and other notified stretches by 2012
The Challenge of Meeting the MDGs

(selected indicators, annual percentage point change)
3.5
3
3
2.6
Percentage
2.5
2
1.5 1.3 1.8 1.8
1.5 1 1.3 1.3
1 0.7
0.5
0
Total Boys Girls Infant Proportion
Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment Mortality of Attended
Rate Rate Rate Rate Deliveries
Rate of progress in 1990s

Rate of progress required to achieve MD Gs (1990s to 2015)
Figure 2
Source: NSS 50th and 55th Round, Schedule 10 for enrollment estimates; NFHS-1 (1992-93) and NFHS-2 (1998/99) for IMRs and attended birth
estimates.

7. Role of the Voluntary Sector in Poverty Alleviation
Participation of people in poverty alleviation By the early 1980s, the government gave considerable
programmes is crucial to their success. And, the importance to the banking sector in direct poverty
voluntary sector can play an instrumental role in alleviation, by fixing targets in achieving the
promoting peoples participation. Participation desired direction in lending activities. Integrated
is based on peoples awareness of their social development models replaced the fragmented and
entitlements and economic opportunities, which compartmentalised development models that still
moves them away from dependency to self-reliance had charity and welfare components. The priorities
and to gives them a role in decision-making. and agenda of donor agencies also influenced the
development perspective and programmes at the
Government perception towards the voluntary sector grassroots level.
as an important actor in developmental activities has
moved through various stages and also changed over These trends contributed to the emergence of two
the period of time. During 1950s and 1960s, it was distinct types of grassroots NGOs. Development
assumed that the state-led capital intensive economic NGOs sought to work around concrete sectoral
growth in the industrial and agricultural sectors activities relevant to different poverty groups in the
was the answer to poverty through trickle-down countryside.The other type of NGOs that came into
effect, accompanied by community development and existence was empowerment NGOs, which formed
welfare programmes for those which were thought organizations for different poverty groups in the
to be incapable of participating in the programmes countryside and strengthened their efforts to address
aimed at economic growth. The Government set the structural causes of their poverty. By late 1980s
up the Central Social Welfare Board and Khadi and there were four different grassroots NGOs, which
Village Industries Commission to channel funds to often co-existed in the same locality, viz., welfare
NGOs for implementing welfare programmes (health, NGOs, development NGOs, empowerment NGOs
education, shelter homes for the destitute, old age and social action groups.
homes, etc.) and vocational programmes.
Since 1991, macro-policies aimed at growth with
During the 1960s, it was found that economic equity, linking the economy with global markets,
growth-oriented strategies, combined with welfare reduced the role of the state. Privatisation of
activities at the micro-level, were not adequate to development (by involving NGOs in development
alleviate poverty. In this context, the United Nations work) and decentralisation in administration was
called for a frontal attack on poverty through the brought in. During the last five decades, a number of
basic needs strategy. Simultaneously, during this local organizations have been created, administration
period, alternative perspectives on development and decentralised and space provided for NGOs so that
the role of NGOs were also emerging. The rise of the macro-policies are implemented, the interests of
Marxism, the JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) movement and the poor represented and a broad-based development,
subsequently the Emergency all these movements poverty alleviation and reduction made possible.
paved the way for the emergence of NGOs working
around issue-based struggles in different parts of There is a widespread belief in India that NGOs
the country. by virtue of being small in scale, flexible, innovative,

participatory, focusing on development and relatively their efforts have ranged from relief to development
independent, are more successful in reaching the poor and empowerment of the poor.Their activities, even if
and in poverty alleviation.This has contributed to the local and financially modest, have strongly influenced
increasing popularity of NGOs among government the quality and scope of development strategies
and external aid agencies and their rapid growth. and the techniques of project design.They have also
contributed to a radical change in the concept of
With growing numbers and increased funding, NGOs development by means of small-scale projects aimed
have been able to create a vast social infrastructure. directly at the rural poor.
It is estimated that there are 20,000 NGOs active
in rural development today. If we assume that each
7.1 Snapshots of NGO activity in
of these NGOs is working in 10 villages, the NGOs
together will be covering half of the villages in India. If India
we assume that each of the NGOs have five trained
workers, the number of qualified persons engaged 7.1.1 SEWA-Gujarat
in rural development will be quite large. A majority In India, poor women workers are mainly engaged
of NGOs have formed peoples organizations at the in the informal economy. A labour force of women
village level, provided education and training to the contributes significantly to the national economy
people on various issues, and most of them work but their work remains invisible, unaccounted
with the marginalized groups such as women, dalits and unrecognized. These are women who are not
and adivasis.This social infrastructure provides ample protected by labour laws or any formal employer-
opportunities for NGOs not only for making service employee relationship; women who work long,
provision but also to enable the poor to access the hard hours but do not get the basic benefits of
resources from the government, to enter into gram social protection and healthcare.
panchayats, in improving their capacity as panchayat
More than three decades ago, a movement to
members and in making gram panchayats pro-poor
empower and protect these women workers was
and people-centred, to represent the interests of the
initiated by Ela Bhatt. Based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat,
poor in decision-making bodies at various levels.
since 1972, SEWA The Self Employed Womens
Many studies carried out on NGOs and overall Association is a labour union with more than 7,00,000
assessments of their work in alleviating rural poverty members today. Members of SEWA come from
have shown positive results. Broadly speaking, NGOs four broad occupational categories home-based
work on a people-to-people basis; are concerned workers, small producers, street vendors & manual
with processes as much as, if not more than, labourers and service providers. SEWAs main goals
outcomes; can reach the poor, and sometimes claim are to organize women for full employment at the
to reach the poorest of the poor; have found ways to household level and for self-reliance and through
involve beneficiaries as participants in development; this create a framework that provides security
are flexible, innovative, and experimental; can and do work security, income security and social security
support, create and foster local institutions; and are (health care, child care, insurance and shelter). Moving
cost-effective, at least relative to other development towards these goals, SEWA organizes a wide range
agents. of activities with, for, and by its members. These
range from unionizing to policy development, from
Some NGOs have provided shining examples for a cooperative development to insurance and banking,
very long time in the fight against rural poverty and from health care and childcare to housing.

7.1.2 Khoj-An initiative by Voluntary Health focus was relief and assistance for refugees
Association of India returning from Bangladeshs Liberation War. In
The concept of Khoj evolved out of Voluntary 1973, with the emergency relief work complete,
Health Association of Indias deep concern to find BRAC turned to the issues of poverty alleviation
a breakthrough in health status of poverty-stricken and the empowerment of the poor, especially
people living in remote and difficult areas. These women and the landless, in rural areas of the
projects were initiated in 1993 with financial support country. The organisation moved into the area
from EZE (now EED), Germany as model projects of community development, providing health, and
in some of the least developed and difficult areas economic support to different segments of the
of the country. The interventions had an innovative rural population. BRAC operates n more than
approach to tackle health and development issues. 60,000 villages and 2,300 urban slums in 460 of
They aimed at effecting a holistic change in the lives the 460 Thanas, or sub-districts, in Bangladesh.
of beneficiaries by simultaneously improving their More than 4.3 million people belong to BRACs
health and socio-economic status in a manner which village organisations, and nearly 4 million were
was appropriate to local scenarios of the respective active borrowers in 2001, making it the MFI with
project areas. There are 19 Khoj projects in some largest outreach in Bangladesh. Almost 100 per
remote and difficult areas of less developed North cent of BRACs clients are women.
and North Eastern states.These projects have done
extremely well in presenting successful models of
health and development in remote and unreachable 7.2.2 Grameen Bank
areas to inspire thousands of committed voluntary
organisations in the country.
Grameen Bank Project was born in 1976. In
1983 it was transformed into a formal bank
The project is implemented through Self-Help
under a special law passed for its creation. The
Groups (SHGs). Thrift and credit was the entry
bank, owned by the poor borrowers, mostly
point for initiating work with SHGs and has been its
women, works exclusively for them. Borrowers
mainstay. Income generating activities undertaken by
of Grameen Bank at present own 94 per cent of
SHGs can be divided into four broad categories: (1)
the total equity of the bank while the government
Agriculture, horticulture and vegetable cultivation;
owns the remaining 6 per cent. Grameen Bank
(2) Livestock keeping; (3) Handicrafts and (4) Petty
now operates through 18 zonal, 125 area and
trading and vending. SHGs have made a positive
1195 branch level offices. A basic principle of the
difference in decision-making capacities of the people,
Bank is that it goes to the poor people, since it
especially women. They have emerged as powerful
is difficult for the poor people to come to the
empowering tools.
bank. All banking transactions are done in the
centre meetings at the village level, attended by
7.2 Snapshots of NGO activity in borrowers and the centre manager who is a bank
Bangladesh staff. The banks services have reached 43,681
villages, out of a total of about 68,000 villages
7.2.1 BRAC in the country. The services offered by the bank
include micro-enterprise loans, higher education
BRAC was founded as the Bangladesh Rural loans and scholarships, loan insurance, housing for
Advancement Committee in 1972. Its initial the poor and life insurance among others.

8. Globalisation, Liberalisation and Poverty
Globalisation can be summarised as the global challenge for developing countries is to enact
circulation of goods, services and capital, but also domestic polices that attract more foreign direct
of information, ideas and people. It has shaped all of investments of a relatively long and stable nature,
the 20th century, albeit with large cyclical variations, as well as adopting structural reforms to enable
and has become an increasingly visible force in domestic adjustment when necessary.
recent decades.Although there are many factors that
have spurred and in turn have been reinforced by Greater openness to a global economy increases
globalisation, two have played a particularly important risks and exposure to economic and financial
role in contributing to its accelerating pace in the shocks. Recent financial crises have highlighted the
1980s and 1990s. The first is technical progress vulnerability of countries to sharp fluctuations in
especially in information technology, international capital flows, and the negative impact on the poor.
communication and global transportation.The second Strengthening the international financial system
major development is the shift in policy orientation as will help developing countries reap the benefits of
governments everywhere have reduced barriers that globalisation while minimising the associated risks.
had curbed the development of domestic markets Crisis prevention through sound domestic policies
and their links to the international economy. and institutions in all countries remains the first line
of defence against financial instability.
Experience, especially in East Asia, demonstrates that
developing countries benefit from participation in the The impact of globalisation and liberalisation led
global economy through higher economic growth to a series of economic reforms in India. The
and living standards, and thus have reduced poverty. first generation of reforms in India concentrated
Increased openness to trade creates opportunities on the industrial economy and agricultural and
for new investments and jobs, and promotes more rural sectors were neglected. The Government
efficient use of resources and higher productivity. withdrew developmental expenditure on the rural
The liberalisation of capital flows permits greater economy owing to the fiscal correction exercise
access to the external resources needed to finance as part of the structural adjustment programme.
such investments, and foreign direct investment can In fact, the 1990s were marked by the dominance
also encourage the transfer of technology, managerial of deflationary macro-economic policies and falling
expertise and skills. Open markets also provide public development expenditure. These led to an
consumers with access to a wider range of better- unparalleled and comprehensive crisis in rural India,
quality goods at lower prices. resulting in impoverishment, food shortages and
hunger.The per capita availability of foodgrains fell to
Globalisation can increase the flow of investments, such low levels as were seen during the worst famines
trade and technology. These flows, however, tend to of the colonial period. An important reason for this
concentrate on a few geographical areas and on a state of affairs is the declining agricultural growth
few countries within them. Increasing the number of rate. Rural economy is still the mainstay of India and
countries that attract and benefit from investment, it cannot be ignored. If the problem of poverty is to
trade and technology flows require policy responses be tackled the next generation of reforms cannot
by both developing and developed countries. The afford to overlook rural development.

The other contributory factors are the fall in Prior to the banking sector reforms rural banking
purchasing power owing to the contraction of and rural credit supply were mandatory on financial
the public works programmes and employment institutions. The rural banking sector suffered from
generation activities of the state. Farm incomes too severe non-payment of debts, which deteriorated
have fallen thanks to rising input costs, a simultaneous the financial viability of the institution. Consequently,
fall in prices and also the withdrawal of the state from banking sector reforms have substantially changed
areas such as credit, extension services, procurement, the institutional arrangement for rural credit. The
price support and infrastructure. Indebtedness and organised financial sector in India is either unable
land alienation have grown, particularly amongst small or unwilling to finance a range of activities that are
and marginal farmers. of crucial importance for growth and development.
Credit availability being a key factor in helping the
Workforce participation rates in rural areas have poor to escape poverty, it is of vital importance to
declined, more for rural women than for men.There explore the possibilities of reaching credit to the
is a growing gender-based division of labour in rural poor, especially the rural poor.
areas, with lowly paid menial and arduous work
going to women. This is compounded by the overall The central and state governments are faced with
decline in womens employment in the post-reform severe financial constraints that restrict them from
phase, from 1.41 in 1983-1993 to a mere 0.15 per incurring expenditure on infrastructure building.
cent in 1994-2000. The economic reforms had opened up many state-
monopolised sectors for private investment. But
The claims made during the beginning of reforms the rural infrastructural sector gets very marginal
that it is going to bring about employment growth attention from private investors. The lack of
does not seem to be true after studying the data attention from the state and the private sector may
for the post reform period. With more than 90 be deteriorating the rural infrastructural facility.The
per cent working in the unorganised sector and growth of the rural economy is intricately linked
the employment opportunities declining there to the infrastructure availability, which strengthens
seems to be an urgent requirement for policy modern economic institutions that are vital to
changes to revitalize employment generation in employment generation and income growth.
the economy. The Planning Commission reports
a fall in employment growth from 2.04 per cent The solution in this case is not, however, to reject
during 1983-94 to 0.98 per cent during 1994- globalisation and liberalisation but rather to create
2000 largely on account of the crisis in agriculture an effective system of compensation for those
and community social and personal services, who did not initially gain from it. To achieve a fair
which together account for seven-tenths of total market economy, the state needs to ensure equal
employment. Even though this was accompanied possibilities for the participation of all citizens.This is
by a deceleration in the rate of growth of the a clear assignment to the political leaders for public
labour force from 2.29 per cent in 1987-94 to 1.03 investment in human and physical infrastructure.
per cent in 1993-2000, unemployment has grown Human infrastructure mainly means the provision
because the growth of the labour force outstrips the of basic education and basic health care. Further,
growth of employment. The extreme manifestations public investment in physical infrastructure is needed
of this distress are the unabated starvation deaths in the form of power supply, roads and irrigation
and suicides by farmers. measures.

Globalisation has put a premium on good Second, to facilitate empowerment by making
governance, because of the need to put in place institutions more responsive and accountable
policies and institutions demanded by an increasingly to the poor, by strengthening the participation
competitive global market place, because of and influence of the poor in political processes
pressures on governments to be transparent and and by removing social barriers.A particularly
more accountable to their citizens, and because of important dimension relates to gender.
the higher costs of mismanagement. Policies at the
country level remain crucial for poverty reduction Third, to understand better and reduce
even in an age of globalisation. Combating poverty the vulnerability of the poor to ill-health,
involves much more than fostering sound market- economic shocks, natural disasters, violence,
oriented growth. The World Development Report and transitional costs arising from market
2000/01 highlights the importance of actions in reforms.
three main areas:
All of these policies must be designed in a way
First, to enhance the capabilities of the poor, that takes account of financial constraints and local
particularly through the improved provision of realities with special attention to the impact on
education and health, which are fundamental the poor and on transitional losses and secures
to well being and which promote participation ownership of key stakeholders through participatory
in market opportunities. processes.

9. Conclusion
Supported by wide-ranging reforms, India has opportunities. Opportunities must be created and
experienced rapid growth by most standards over expanded for women to participate more fully in
the past decade (averaging about 6 per cent per year economic and political decision-making. Further,
between 1992-3 and 2003-4). The external position economic growth has to be participatory. It must
of Indias economy has also improved dramatically. be planned and managed by people whose lives it
In parallel with this faster growth, India has made affects. Civil society involvement is absolutely vital,
impressive progress towards reducing income PRIs should be strengthened and the voluntary
poverty. Continued progress has also been made on sector should play an instrumental role in reaching
many social indicators, particularly literacy, which the benefits to the people.
rose from 52 per cent in 1991 to 65 per cent in 2001
(NSS, Office of the Registrar General, India). In India today, there also remains a substantial and
persistent disparity of opportunity, particularly in
However, while Indias economic and social the education, health and economic prospects of
performance has been impressive on many counts, women and other vulnerable groups such as the
it has also been uneven and has fallen behind the SC/ST populations. A symptom of this disparity is
performance of a number of countries in East Asia. the strikingly low ratio of girls to boys, which rather
Despite the emergence of tens of millions from than improving with Indias development progress,
poverty during the 1990s, average incomes across appears to be worsening.A growing gulf has emerged
India remain low and there has been little movement as well in growth between the richer and the poorer
on some critical social indicators. A great concern states within the country with the result that
is that both maternal and under-five mortality have poverty is increasingly geographically concentrated.
hardly improved. In addition, HIV/AIDS is spreading Today, almost half of Indias poor, approximately
quickly, with risk factors that put the country in 133 million people, live in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or
danger of a growing epidemic. Madhya Pradesh. Over three quarters of the poor
live in rural areas.
In the 1960s, the levels of income in Botswana and
Indonesia were lower than in India. But by 1993, the Given these disparities and the increasing
situation was reversed. During this period, Botswana concentration of poverty by region and by state, it can
and Indonesia also recorded significantly more rapid be said that India occupies two worlds simultaneously.
advances in health and education than India did. The first, where economic reform and social changes
China, Indonesia and Thailand have all achieved and such as improved education for girls, have begun to
sustained higher levels of per capita incomes than take hold and where growth has had an impact on
India because they have done much better in term peoples lives and opportunities and the other,
of expanding human capabilities. If human poverty is where some people appear almost completely left
to be eradicated, India must, as a priority, invest in its behind by public services, employment opportunities
people in their health and education. India needs and brighter prospects. Bridging the gap between
to strike a balance in its development. A balance is these two worlds is perhaps the greatest challenge
needed between economic growth and an expansion faced by the Government today.
of social opportunities. And the Government has
to play a more proactive role in expanding social The Tenth Plan targets an average growth rate of 8

per cent per year. Accelerating growth towards 8 However, studies have shown that such surveys are
per cent a year depends greatly on changes taking fraught with design and implementation problems.
place in Indias lagging states. If the trends of the past The indicators used to determine the level of
few years continue, i.e., if growth continues to be poverty are inadequate. One possible solution
divergent across states (with poorer states growing may be that the rights of identification of the
no faster than 5 per cent per year), then richer states poor be vested with the local bodies and peoples
would have to grow at near 10 per cent per year organisations with regulations defined by the state.
on average to reach an all-India average of 6.5 per Also the state needs to adopt sensitive and pro-
cent over the Tenth Plan period. Since this is unlikely, poor social indicators.
implicit in projections of rapid aggregate growth is
an acceleration of growth in the lagging states. To Poverty alleviation efforts in India have, unfortunately,
achieve this, major policy and governance reforms been plagued by corruption, which have had
will be needed in the poorer states. The role of the deleterious effects on its outputs. From former
Centre in both catalysing and setting the pace for Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis famous off-the-cuff
reforms at the state level will be critical. remark that only 15 paisa of rupee, allocated for
welfare schemes, reaches the poor, to startling
Policies to increase the productivity of agriculture, surveys by the Planning Commission members on
which declined between the 1980s and 1990s will also how only 20 paisa out of Re 1 spent on rationed
be of particular importance for poverty reduction and grain reaches the target and of Rs. 60 meant to go
increased rural incomes. It is also important to note as wages in a poverty scheme how only Rs. 10-15
that a number of factors weaken the link between gets there studies are aplenty.
Indias economic growth and poverty reduction.
These factors range from the skewed ownership Recently, the Independent South Asian Commission
of, and access to productive assets (e.g. land, credit) on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) has pointed out
and ineffective delivery of government programmes, that poverty in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan can
to restrictive social groupings that cause exclusion be reduced by 25 per cent if they can curb existing
(e.g., caste, kinship) and systems of patronage. corruption level to those prevailing in nations with
Measures aimed at empowering poor people, both the highest reputation of honest dealing. Further,
as economic agents and as service users, appear to according to the report, countries in South Asia need
be vital for success in sustained poverty reduction.As to develop a common database on best practices in
highlighted in the 2004 World Development Report poverty alleviation in order to reduce the incidence
Making Services Work for Poor People, more of poverty and improve human development.
effective delivery of health and education services They need to focus on tapping regional economic
and provision of social safety nets would help to opportunities that are largely unexploited.The report
empower the people to both contribute to, and goes on to add that countries in the region need to
benefit from, strong economic growth. mainstream the informal economy, mobilise the poor,
and focus on sustainable development and prudent
An extremely important issue is the identification of macroeconomics in order to alleviate poverty.
the poor towards whom the welfare programmes
and services are directed. As per the procedure, There is an array of anti-poverty programmes but
state governments undertake surveys to identify unfortunately, they are not delivering the desired
the households living below the poverty line. goods. The Government needs to take a fresh

look at them so that development does not take country and give them a reliable source of income
place only on paper. Development should not be through 100 days employment. He also pointed
measured in terms of statistics but by a qualitative out that successive Indian governments have been
difference in peoples lives. Lack of employment, underactive in the field of education and healthcare.
in spite of the existence of various employment Therefore, expenditure on these two areas should
schemes has emerged as an important cause of be stepped up.
poverty.
Poverty alleviation programmes can work only if
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill has the benefits accruing from them reach the targeted
sparked a debate on the desirability and feasibility people, i.e. the actually poor. More often than not
of extending the innovative Employment Guarantee the benefits are squandered away by the relatively
Scheme (EGS) in Maharashtra to the poorest 150 affluent. Therefore, it is extremely important to
districts in India. The provisions relating to offer ensure access of the poor to the programmes. The
of work within 15 days of demanding it and not main focus should be to bring about long-term
exceeding a distance of 5 km, a minimum of 100 poverty reduction and not short-term relief. Public
days of work to an adult in a household, medical spending on rural infrastructure and agricultural R
entitlements, and a key role for village panchayats & D has been found to have a greater and long-term
and gram sabhas in its design, implementation impact on poverty incidence than wage employment
and monitoring are laudable. But whether it will and other rural development programmes.
contribute to poverty reduction is to be seen.
In spite of periodic appraisals, constitution of various
Prof.Amartya Sen has endorsed the EGS and greater committees and commissions, the poverty situation in
state outlays on education and health. He described India is still grim. But one is hopeful that a synergistic
the Employment Guarantee Bill as an enormously effort between the Government and the voluntary
important instrument. According to him it would sector can make a positive difference to the lives of
deal with some of the poorest people in the the millions of poor people in this country.

10. Appendix
10.1 Five-Year Plans and Poverty and women, have full and equal opportunity for
growth and service. The major focus areas were:
Alleviation
Employment generation
Growth with Social Justice has been the basic
Reduction of economic inequalities
objective of development planning in India since
independence.At the beginning of the First Five-Year Agricultural infrastructure
Plan, almost half of the Indian population was living
below the poverty line, 80 % of which lived in the Establishment of a distributive system
rural areas. The incidence of poverty in villages was
widespread.This problem was further aggravated by Within the broad objective of establishing a socialistic
disparities that existed among the states, between pattern of society, the Second Five Year Plan
men and women and among different social groups. (1957-62) had the following objectives:
The magnitude of poverty and disparities that existed
Sizeable increase in national income so as to
between various social groups, such as Scheduled
raise the level of living in the country
Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other backward castes,
women, children, the physically handicapped and the Rapid industrialization with particular
disabled was considerable. emphasis on the development of basic and
heavy industries
Planning in India was intended, in the words of
the Government Resolution of March 1950, to Large expansion of employment
promote a rapid rise in the standard of living of the opportunities
people by efficient exploitation of the resources
Reduction of inequalities in income and wealth
of the country, increasing production, and offering
and a more even distribution of economic
opportunities to all for employment in the service
power
of the community.
The principal aims of the Third Five Year Plan
In December 1954, Parliament adopted a resolution,
(1963-65) were:
which contained the following clauses:
To secure an increase in national income of
1. The objective of economic policy should be
over 5 per cent per annum, the pattern of
a Socialistic Pattern of Society; and
investment being designed also to sustain
2. Towards this end the tempo of economic this rate of growth during subsequent Plan
activity in general and industrial development periods
in particular should be stepped up to the
To achieve self-sufficiency in foodgrains and
maximum possible extent.
increase agricultural production to meet the
requirements of industry and exports
The central objective of the First Five Year Plan
(1951-56) was to create conditions in which living To expand basic industries like steel,
standards are reasonably high and all citizens, men chemical industries, fuel and power and

establish machine-building capacity, so that attention was given to the development of
the requirements of further industrialisation rural industries in the local area plans.
can be met within a period of 10 years
or so mainly from the countrys own Problems of weaker sections
resources
(i) A programme was introduced to make
To utilise to the fullest possible extent the the weaker producers viable, and then
manpower resources of the country and to start them on the path of development
ensure a substantial expansion in employment schemes of technical and financial
opportunities assistance, and of cooperative or other
organizations for production, credit and
To establish progressively greater equality of marketing.
opportunity and to bring about reduction in
disparities in income and wealth and a more (ii) Special programmes for SC/ST
even distribution of economic power (economic, social and educational
development) and the landless labour
The Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-73) aimed (rural works programme).
at accelerating the tempo of development in
Balanced regional development
conditions of stability and reduced uncertainties. It
was also proposed to introduce safeguards against Strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions
the fluctuations of agricultural production as well and Cooperatives
as the uncertainties of foreign aid. Together with
programmes of increased agricultural production Nationalisation of banks
the Plan provided for the building of sufficient buffer
stocks to even out the supplies of food grains and The underlying objectives of the Fifth Five Year
other measures to stabilize food grain prices and Plan (1974-79) were removal of poverty and
the price level in general. The other major areas of achievement of self-reliance.The areas of focus were
focus were: agriculture, energy and critical intermediaries and the
creation of additional employment opportunities.
Reduction of concentration and a wider
diffusion of wealth, income and economic The strategies for long term planning of the
power agricultural sector centred around detailed assessment
and exploitation of ground and surface water,
Rapid growth of the economy, greater diffusion
intensification in application of new technologies in
of enterprise and the ownership of the means
agriculture, extension mechanisms and programmes
of production, increasing productivity of the
for supply of inputs, apart from attention to the
weaker units and widening opportunities
special needs of the problem areas and vulnerable
of productive work and employment to
sections of the society.
the common man and particularly the less
privileged sections of society.
For the purpose of devising an appropriate
Local planning- In agriculture schemes for employment policy, three inter-related aspects
area development planning and for helping were taken into account focus on irrigation and
small farm economy were included. Special agricultural extension involving the use of high

yielding varieties, rural employment generation contributing to a reduction in inequalities of
inter-woven with a local development strategy, and income and wealth.
creation of a secure rural tenantry and a productive
A progressive reduction in regional inequalities
small farmer base by means of tenancy reform.
in the process of development and in the
diffusion of technological benefits.
Land reforms were prioritized as per the 20 Point
Programme i.e., grant of proprietary rights or
Three major anti-poverty programmes started
ensuring security of tenurial arrangements to the
during this plan period were National Rural
small farmers and share croppers together with
Employment Programme (NREP), the Integrated
production support.Agricultural planning was carried
Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and Rural
out on the basis of a comprehensive area approach
Landless Employment Guarantee Programme
for generating additional employment through
(RLEGP). The various anti-poverty programmes
ancillary activities involving animal husbandry, better
were designed to supplement and strengthen the
utilization of conventional waste materials, etc.
favourable impact of faster agricultural growth on
the level of living of the rural poor.
The major task of economic policy set out in the
Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-84) was to create
The central element in the development strategy
necessary conditions for the mobilization of
of the Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-89) was
resources for development in a non-inflationary
the generation of productive employment, through
manner. The principal objectives of this Plan were:
increase in cropping intensity made possible by
A significant step up in the rate of growth increased availability of irrigation facilities, extension
of the economy, the promotion of efficiency of new agricultural technologies to low productivity
in the use of resources and improved regions and to small farmers, through measures to
productivity. make rural development programmes more effective
in the creation of productive assets, through the
Strengthening the impulses of modernization expansion of intensive construction activities for
for the achievement of economic and providing housing, urban amenities, roads and rural
technological self-reliance. infrastructure, through the promotion of primary
education and basic health facilities and through
A progressive reduction in the incidence of
changes in the pattern of industrial growth. Efforts
poverty and unemployment.
were made to integrate various beneficiary-oriented
Improving the quality of life of the people programmes, sectoral programmes and area
in general with special reference to the development schemes into a consistent design of
economically and socially handicapped comprehensive development of each district/block
population, through a minimum needs taking into account its specific resource endowment
programme whose coverage is so designed as needs and development potential.
to ensure that all parts of the country attain,
within a prescribed period, nationally accepted The development strategy of the plan sought to
standards. accelerate the rate of poverty reduction. The anti-
poverty programmes of the previous plan period,
Strengthening the redistributive bias of public viz., NREP, IRDP and RLEGP were continued and
policies and services in favour of the poor expanded. They were considered particularly

important in providing additional incomes to landless time-bound manner; containing the growth rate
labour households who lack a resource base in the of population; ensuring environmental sustainability
form of land. of the development process through social
mobilization and participation of people at all
The approach to the Eighth Five Year Plan (1992- levels, empowerment of women and socially
96) had the following fourfold focus: disadvantaged groups such as SC/ST and OBC
and Minorities as agents of socio-economic change
(i) Clear prioritization of sectors/ projects and development; promoting and developing
for investment in order to facilitate peoples participatory bodies like Panchayati Raj
operationalisation and implementation of institutions, co-operatives and self-help groups; and
the policy initiatives taken in the areas of strengthening efforts to build self-reliance.
fiscal, trade and industrial sectors and human
development
10.2 Summing up
(ii) Making resources for these priority sectors
available and ensuring their effective Thus, poverty alleviation has been one of the
utilization guiding principles of the planning process in India.
The role of economic growth in providing more
(iii) Creation of a social security net through
employment avenues to the population has been
employment generation, improved health care
clearly recognized. The growth-oriented approach
and provision of extensive education facilities
has been reinforced by focusing on specific sectors,
throughout the country
which provide greater opportunities to the people
(iv) Creation of appropriate organisations and to participate in the growth process. The various
delivery systems to ensure that the benefits dimensions of poverty relating to health, education
of investment in the social sectors reach the and other basic services have been progressively
intended beneficiaries. internalized in the planning process. Central and state
governments have considerably enhanced allocations
The Approach Paper to the Ninth Five Year for the provision of education, health, sanitation and
Plan (1997-2002) had accorded priority to other facilities, which promote capacity building and
agriculture and rural development with a view to well-being of the poor. Investments in agriculture,
generating adequate productive employment and area development programmes and afforestation
eradication of poverty, accelerating the growth open avenues for employment and income. Special
rate of the economy with stable prices, ensuring programmes have been taken up for the welfare
food and nutritional security for all, particularly of SCs and STs, the disabled and other vulnerable
the vulnerable sections of society, providing the groups. The Targeted Public Distribution System
basic minimum services of safe drinking water, (TPDS) protects the poor from the adverse effects
primary health care facilities, universal primary of a rise in prices and ensures food and nutrition
education, shelter, and connectivity to all in a security at affordable prices.

11. References
Abusaleh Shariff, Some Thoughts on Nature and J. Murickan S.J. (ed.), Poverty in India: Challenges and
Persistence of Poverty in India, NCAER. Responses, The Xavier Board of Higher Education
in India, 1998.
A.K. Shiva Kumar, Poverty and Human Development
in India: Getting Priorities Right, Human Development K.S. Krishnaswamy (ed.), Poverty and Income
Resource Centre. Distribution, Sameeksha Trust & OUP, 1990.
Anubhav: Innovative Initiatives in Self Help Group Katsushi, Imai, Targeting versus Universalism: An
Development,Voluntary Health Association of India, Evaluation of Indirect Effects of the Employment
2004. Guarantee Scheme in India, Department of Economics,
Country Strategy for India, IBRD, IDA & IFC, Royal Holloway, University of London.
September, 2004. Kirit S. Parikh & R. Radhakrishna (ed.), India
D. Rajasekhar, Poverty Alleviation Strategies of NGOs, Development Report 2004-05, Indira Gandhi Institute
Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 2004. of Development Research, Oxford University Press,
New Delhi, 2005.
Dhiraj Nayyar, Alleviating Poverty: Role of Good
Governance and Constitutional Reform, Economic Matthias Oschinski, Economic Liberalisation and
and Political Weekly, October 14, 2000. Globalisation vs. Indias Poor, TIGER Working Paper
Series, No. 36.
Five-Year Plans, Planning Commission, Government
of India. Martin Ravallion & Gaurav Datt, Indias Checkered
History in Fight Against Poverty: Are there Lessons
Global Poverty Report, G-8 Okinawa Summit, July
for the future?, Economic and Political Weekly,
2000.
September, 1996.
G.S. Aurora (ed.), Poverty and Economic Reforms:
The Social Concerns, Academic Foundation, 2004. National Human Development Report 2001, Planning
Commission, Government of India, March 2002.
Human Development Report 2003, UNDP, Oxford
University Press, 2003. Poverty and Vulnerability in South Asia, The World
Bank, June 2002.
Idriss Jazairy, Mohiuddin Alamgir & Theresa Panuccio,
The State of World Rural Poverty-An Inquiry into its Poverty in an Age of Globalisation, The World Bank,
Causes and Consequences, IFAD, 1992. October 2000.
India-Sustaining reform, Reducing Poverty, A World Radhika Nayak, N.C. Saxena & John Farrington,
Bank Development Policy Review, OUP, New Delhi, Reaching the Poor: The Influence of Policy and
2003. Administrative Processes on the Implementation
of Government Poverty Schemes in India, Overseas
India: Poverty, Employment and Social Services, A
Development Institute, 2002.
World Bank Country Study, 1989.
INDIA-Reducing Poverty,Accelerating Development, Review of The Asian Development Banks Poverty
A World Bank Country Study, OUP, New Delhi, Reduction Strategy, Asian Development Bank, June
2000. 2004.

Report of the Independent Commission on Health in Smita Gupta, Rallying for a Right, FRONTLINE,
India,Voluntary Health Association of India, 1997. November 19, 2004.
Report of The Working Group on Rural Poverty State of Indias Health,Voluntary Health Association
Alleviation Programmes for the Tenth Five Year Plan of India, 1992.
(2002-2007), Planning Commission, Government of
India, 2001. The Chronic Poverty Report 2004-05, Chronic
Poverty Research Centre.
Sachin Kumar Jain, Identification of the Poor: Flaws in
Government Surveys, Economic and Political Weekly, Vikas Singh, Bhupendra Gehlot, Daniel Start &
November20, 2004. Craig Johnson, Out of Reach: Local Politics and
the Distribution of Development Funds in Madhya
Shenggen Fan, Peter Hazell & S. K. Thorat, Impact
Pradesh, Overseas Development Institute, 2003.
of Public Expenditure on Poverty in Rural India,
Economic and Political Weekly, September 30, V.S. Vyas, Pradeep Bhargava, Public Intervention for
2000. Poverty Alleviation-An Overview, Economic and
Political Weekly, October14-21, 1995.
Shenggen Fan, Peter Hazell & Sukhadeo Thorat,
Linkages between Government Spending, Growth World Development Report 2000/01: Attacking
and Poverty in Rural India, IFPRI, 1999. Poverty, World Bank, 2000.

The Independent Commission on Development and Health in India
The Independent Commission on Development and Health in India (ICDHI), formerly

known as The Independent Commission on Health in India (ICHI), was formed in 1995,
facilitated by Voluntary Health Association of India. The commission, comprising of
distinguished people from the development and health sectors, aims at assessing the
development and health situation of the country through policy research and analysis,
in-depth surveys, focus group discussions, public hearings, round table conferences
with developmental workers, policy makers and people, particularly disadvantaged
community at large. By means of participatory process, the Commission seeks to
identify the maladies impending the development and progress of the country and
come out with clearly defined solution to the problems identified.The Commission
works closely with the Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
and Planning Commission within the government, and reputed Research organizations,
Non-government organizations, Panchayati Raj Institutions at the grassroots as well
as other relevant forums . The first report of the Commission was released by the
Prime Minister and was presented to the President.The report was discussed in the
Parliamentary forum. ICDHIs constant endeavour has been to facilitate the process
of need based and people-centric sustainable development.
ISBN: 81-88973-86-6 The Independent

Commission on
Development &
ISBN- 81-88973-86-6 Health in India
Rs. 55.00

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The Independent Commission on Development and Health in India

Principal Researher & Author

Independent Commission on Development and Health in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India i

Design & Pagelayout

Voluntary Health Association of India, 2005

ii Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India iii

3. Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 6

4. Discussion of the Impact of Public Interventions against Poverty 13

5. Discussion of Public Spending on Poverty Alleviation 17

7. Role of the Voluntary Sector in Poverty Alleviation 26

8. Globalisation, Liberalisation and Poverty 29

iv Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 1

2 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Summary of poverty indicators for South Asia

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 3

Macroeconomic trends over the past two decades

a. Eighth Plan period b. Ninth Plan period c. Estimated

4 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Progress on Social Indicators, 1980-2000

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 5

The frontal attack on poverty was pursued in three

6 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 7

8 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 9

10 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

3.3.7.4 Shiksha Karmi Project and Lok Jumbish

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 11

12 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 13

14 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 15

16 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 17

Health Education Infrastructure Technology Poverty

Wages Non-Agricultural Landless Prices

Other Exogenous variables:

18 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 19

20 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 21

22 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

6.1.7.1 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 23

Status of Millennium Development Goals in South Asia

24 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

5. Improve maternal health Reduction in the decadal rate of population

The Challenge of Meeting the MDGs

Rate of progress in 1990s

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 25

26 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 27

28 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 29

30 Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India 31