Poverty in India

• Poverty is a significant challenge in India, with one in five people classified as poor in 2011-12, which equals to 270 million individuals
• India has the largest single concentration of the world's poor

Two Typical Cases of Poverty

• Ram Saran, a 33-year-old daily-wage laborer in Jharkhand, earns about Rs 1,500 a month, which is insufficient for his family of six
• Santa Devi, Ram Saran's wife, earns an additional Rs 800 a month working as a part-time maid
• Ram Saran's elder son works in a tea shop for Rs 300 a month; his 10-year-old takes care of his siblings
• Lakha Singh of Uttar Pradesh is a landless laborer who earns Rs 50 for a hard day's work or receives payment in kind
• Lakha Singh lives with his family of eight in a kuchha hut and struggles to secure two square meals a day
• Lakha Singh's father passed away from tuberculosis due to a lack of medication

Poverty as Seen by Social Scientists

• Poverty is defined by hunger, lack of shelter, education, medical treatment, clean water, sanitation and employment
• Poverty also means people are treated poorly
• Social scientists assess poverty through income, consumption, illiteracy, malnutrition, healthcare access, job opportunities, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation
• Social exclusion means poor people live in poor surroundings and are excluded from better opportunities
• Social exclusion is both a cause and effect of poverty and can be exemplified by the caste system in India, where certain castes are denied equal opportunities
• Vulnerability to poverty measures the probability of certain communities or individuals becoming or remaining poor, based on available options, assets, education, health, and job opportunities
• Vulnerability involves considering the risks these groups face during natural disasters or economic downturns

Poverty Line

• The poverty line is a minimum income or consumption level to fulfill basic needs, varying by time and place
• In India, it includes the minimum level of food, clothing, footwear, fuel, light, education, and medical requirements for subsistence
• The poverty line is based on the desired calorie requirement, with 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in urban areas
• In 2011–12, the poverty line was fixed at Rs 816 per month for rural areas and Rs 1000 for urban areas due to higher costs of essential products
• In 2011-12, a family of five in rural areas earning less than Rs 4,080 per month was below the poverty line. In urban areas, the family needed Rs 5,000 per month
• The poverty line is estimated every five years by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)
• International organizations like the World Bank use a uniform standard of $1.90 per person per day

Poverty Estimates

• Poverty ratios in India declined from 45% in 1993-94 to 37.2% in 2004–05, and about 22% in 2011–12
• The number of poor declined from 407 million in 2004–05 to 270 million in 2011–12, with a 2.2% average annual decline
• Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households are the most vulnerable to poverty
• 43 out of 100 Scheduled Tribes are not able to meet their basic needs
• 34% of casual workers in urban areas are below the poverty line
• 34% of casual labor farms (in rural areas) and 29% of Scheduled Castes are also poor

Story of Sivaraman

• Sivaraman is an Aryunthathiyar (cobbler) who lives in Tamil Nadu and works as an agricultural laborer for Rs 160 per day for only five to six months a year
• His wife, Sasikala, earns Rs 100 per day for the same work
• The family has eight members, including Sivaraman's ill 65-year-old widowed mother
• Three of his four children are girls who don't attend school
• Sivaraman struggles to provide two meals a day but manages to buy milk for his son

Inter-State Disparities

• Poverty varies across states; Bihar and Odisha have the highest poverty ratios at 33.7% and 32.6%
• Urban poverty is high in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh
• Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and West Bengal have seen significant declines in poverty
• Punjab and Haryana reduced poverty with high agricultural growth rates
• Kerala focused on human resource development, West Bengal on land reform measures, and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu on public food distribution

Global Poverty Scenario

• The proportion of people in extreme poverty globally has fallen from 36% in 1990 to 10% in 2015
• China and Southeast Asia have seen substantial poverty declines due to economic growth and human resource investment
• In South Asia, poverty rates have also declined
• Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa has declined from 51% in 2005 to 40.2% in 2018
• Poverty in Latin America has decreased from 10% in 2005 to 4% in 2018
• Poverty has resurfaced in some former socialist countries like Russia
• The UN aims to end poverty in all forms by 2030

Causes of Poverty

• One historical reason is the low level of economic development under the British colonial administration which destroyed traditional handicrafts and industries like textiles
• A low rate of growth persisted up to the 1980s, resulting in fewer job opportunities and a low income growth rate
• The failure to promote economic growth and control population led to a growth rate of per capita income
• Irrigation and the Green Revolution created job opportunities in agriculture, but effects were limited
• Industries could not absorb all job seekers
• People worked jobs like rickshaw pullers, vendors, construction workers, and domestic servants with irregular small incomes, meaning they could not afford expensive housing and lived in slums on the outskirts of cities
• Huge income inequalities due to the unequal distribution of land and resources has contributed to lack of resources
• Other socio-cultural and economic factors cause Indians to spend money fulfilling social obligations and religious ceremonies
• Small farmers borrow money to buy agricultural inputs but are unable to repay it so become victims of indebtedness

Anti-Poverty Measures

• The Indian government's anti-poverty strategy revolves around (1) promoting economic growth and (2) administering targeted anti-poverty programs
• India's economic growth rate jumped from 3.5% per year in the 1970s to about 6% during the 1980s and 1990s
• Some anti-poverty measures programs:
  • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 sought to supply 100 days of wage employment per household to ensure source of income and security
  • The scheme also sought to support sustainable development to address the causes of draught, deforestation and soil erosion.
  • One third of these jobs were reserved for women
  • The scheme provided employment to 220 crore persons and 4.78 crore households and the earnings have increased from 65 to 132 rupees
  • Wage rates for unskilled manual workers has been revised to be 281 rupees per day in Haryana and 168 rupees per day in Bihar and Jharkhand
  • Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana seeks to create self-employment opportunities for uneducated rural youth in small towns
  • Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) was launched to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and towns
  • The goal was to create 25 lakh new jobs under the 10th 5 year plan
  • Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar aims to bring poor families above the poverty line by organizing them with self help groups with a mix of bank credit and government sudsidy
  • Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yozana gave additional central assistance to states for basic services such as primary health and education
  • The Antyodaya Anna Yozana gives the population the availability of the distribution of subsidized food

The Challenges Ahead

• Poverty certainly declined in India with poverty reduction being one of its most compelling challenges and wide disparities existing across diverse regions
• Certain economic groups remain more vulnerable to poverty with reduction expected in the 10-15 years
• This could mostly be due to increasing economic growth and increasing stress on universally free elementary education with a declining growth in population
• Poverty includes a large portion of the underprivileged portions fo society and empowerment of women
• The world has broadened what the concept of poverty means with the ability to feed themselves with the concern that they do not have education and healthcare
• The definition is evolving with a self concept concern and that caste and discrimination is still prevalent alongside the practice of child labor
• The world has experienced that the definition of poverty is always evolving and moving
• This also means the goal of complete poverty is always moving and that many will remain by providing education and healthcare and equal opportunity for all

Overview of poverty in India, including statistics and typical cases. It explores how poverty affects daily life, focusing on lack of food, shelter, and medical care. It also examines how social scientists view and measure poverty.