Introduction

In our daily life, we see poverty all around us. They could be landless labourers in villages,
people living in overcrowded jhuggis in cities, daily wage workers or child workers in dhabas.
According to facts, in India, every fourth person is poor.

Two Typical Cases of Poverty

Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter, lack of clean water and sanitation facilities, and lack
of a regular job at a minimum decent level. Poverty is considered as one of the biggest
challenges of independent India. India would be truly independent only when the poorest of its
people become free of human suffering.

Poverty as Seen by Social Scientists

Social scientists look at poverty through a variety of indicators. Usually, the indicators are used
to relate to the levels of income and consumption. But, now, poverty is looked through other
social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access
to healthcare, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, etc.

Poverty Line

One way to quantify poverty based on levels of consumption or income is to use the poverty
line. The definition of poverty varies by location and period. The basic standards for food,
clothing, footwear, fuel and light, education and medical needs, etc. are used in India to
calculate the poverty line. The prices of these physical quantities in rupees are multiplied. In
India, the ideal calorie requirement is used to calculate poverty.

In India, it is generally accepted that an individual needs 2400 calories per day in rural areas and
2100 calories per day in urban areas. These computations were used to determine the poverty
line for the 2011–12 year, which was set at Rs. 1000 for urban areas and Rs. 816 for rural
regions each month. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) conducts sample surveys
to determine the poverty line regularly, usually every five years.

Poverty Estimates

The poverty rate in India has significantly decreased, going from almost 45 percent in 1993–
1994 to 37.2% in 2004–2005. In 2011–12, the percentage of those living below the poverty line
decreased even further, to almost 22%.
Vulnerable Groups

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are social groups that are susceptible to poverty. Similar
to this, the most susceptible economic groupings are urban casual labor households and rural
agricultural labor households. A recent study found that all three groups—scheduled castes,
rural agricultural laborers, and urban casual labor households—saw a decrease in poverty in the
1990s, except scheduled tribes.

Inter-State Disparities

The percentage of the impoverished varies by state in India. The two poorest states, Bihar and
Odisha, remained so with respective poverty levels of 33.7 and 32.6 percent. Odisha, Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh have high rates of urban poverty. Poverty decreased in
Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and West Bengal.

Punjab and Haryana have a history of decreasing poverty through high rates of agricultural
expansion. Kerala has prioritized the development of its human resources more. Land reform
initiatives in West Bengal have contributed to a decrease in poverty. The improvement in
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu can be attributed to the public distribution of food grains.

Global Poverty Scenario

Rapid economic expansion and significant investments in the development of human resources
have led to a significant drop in poverty in China and other Southeast Asian nations. Poverty in
Sub-Saharan Africa decreased from 51% in 2005 to 41% in 2015. The percentage of people
living in poverty in Latin America decreased from 10% in 2005 to 4% in 2015.

Causes of Poverty

There are various reasons for widespread poverty in India.

1. During the British colonial era, India’s economy developed slowly. Traditional handicrafts
were destroyed by new colonial government policies, which also hindered the growth of
industries like textiles. The growth rate of per capita income is extremely low when combined
with a low rate of growth and population expansion. Numerous job opportunities in the
agriculture sector were generated by the Green Revolution and the expansion of irrigation.
These, however, were insufficient to accommodate every job candidate.

2. The stark disparities in income have been another aspect of high rates of poverty. The
unequal distribution of land and other resources is one of the main causes of this. One of the
main causes of poverty in India has been a lack of land resources, yet millions of rural poor
people’s lives may have been improved by properly implementing policies.
3. Small farmers needed money to buy agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, etc.
So, they used to borrow money and were unable to repay the loan because of poverty.

Anti-Poverty Measures

The current anti-poverty scheme is divided into two parts.

1 Promotion of economic growth

2 Targeted anti-poverty programmes

India’s economy has grown at one of the quickest rates in the world since the 1980s. Economic
expansion and the decrease of poverty are closely related. Several programs have been
developed to address poverty either directly or indirectly, including:

1. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of Mahatma Gandhi, 2005 To guarantee the
security of livelihood in rural areas, sought to give every household 100 days of paid work. To
address the causes of soil erosion, deforestation, and drought, it also aimed at sustainable
development. Women have been given preference for one-third of the suggested positions.

2. The Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) was initiated in 1993. The program’s primary goal
is to provide educated unemployed adolescents in rural and small-town regions with chances
for self-employment.

3. The Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) was introduced in 1995. The
program’s objective is to provide opportunities for self-employment in small towns and rural
areas.

4. Swarnajayanti Gramme Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was introduced in 1999. The program’s goal
is to raise the helped low-income families’ standard of living at the poverty line by forming self-
help groups and providing a combination of government subsidies and bank credit.

5. The Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) was introduced in 2000. Additional central
funding is provided to states under this scheme for essential services like basic healthcare, basic
education, rural housing, rural drinking water, and rural electricity.

The Challenges Ahead

Although poverty has decreased in India, it still presents the country with its greatest obstacle.
Over the next ten to fifteen years, there should be further progress made in reducing poverty.
This can be accomplished through accelerating economic growth, putting more emphasis on
free elementary education for all, slowing population growth, and empowering women and
other economically disadvantaged groups in society.