• What is poverty?

Poverty is a situation in which a person is unable to get the minimum basic

necessities of life, i.e., food, clothing and shelter for his or her sustenance.
• What is mass poverty?
Mass poverty is a situation in which a large section of people in economy are
deprived of the basic necessities.
• What is BPL?
• What is Poverty Line?

In India, the concept of Poverty line is used as a measure of absolute poverty. So BPL
(Below Poverty Line) is a line which demarcate the people, who are living below the
poverty from those, who are living above the poverty line.

• Mention any two indicators of poverty.

Level of income.
Level of consumption.
• What is the accepted average calorie requirement in India
• (i) In rural areas
• (ii) In urban areas
• (iii) Why calorie requirement is higher in the rural areas?
(i) 2400 calories
(ii) 2100 calories
(iii) Since people living in rural areas engage themselves in more physical work, so
calorie requirement in rural areas is higher than in the urban areas.
• How is the poverty line estimated periodically? Name an organisation which is
responsible for estimating poverty.
The poverty line is estimated periodically by conducting sample surveys.
These surveys are carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation. (NSSO).
• What are the major features of poverty? Explain.
It also is a situation in which parents are not able to send their children to school or
a situation where sick people cannot afford treatment.
• Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.
• It also means lack of regular job at a minimum decent level. Above all it means living
with a sense of helplessness.
• Poor people are in a situation in which they are ill-treated at almost every place, in
farms, factories, government offices, hospitals, railway stations etc.
• Poverty when 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.
• How do social scientist view poverty?
Social scientist see poverty as more than just lack of money. They think it includes
not having proper food, education and healthcare. The study how poverty affects
people's lives and their ability to improve their situation. Social scientist look at
various ways you understand and reduce poverty through different policies and
programmes.
• what is poverty line and why do different countries use different thresholds?
The poverty line is a measure to identify who is considered poor based on their
income. Different countries set different lines because living costs and economic
conditions vary. Each country decides its level based on local prices and need. This
helps address poverty according to each country’s situation.
• Is poverty the same in rural and urban areas of India?
Poverty differs between rural and urban areas. Rural poverty is often related to
farming problems and lack of services while urban poverty is linked to
unemployment and low wages. Solution need to be tailored to each area such as
improving agriculture in villages and creating jobs in cities.
• What does vulnerability to poverty mean and which group in India are most
valuable?
Vulnerability to poverty is a measure, which describes the greater probability of
certain communities or individuals of becoming, or remaining, poor in the coming
years.In India group such as elderly, disabled and low income families widows,
victims of natural calamities areat most risk. These groups face more challenges
and have fewer resources to manage difficulties or unexpected event.
• What does social exclusion mean?
According to this concept, poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live
only in poor surrounding with other people, excluded from enjoying social equality
of better-off people in better surroundings.
Social exclusion can be both a cause as well as a consequence of poverty in the
usual sense.
Broadly, it is a through in which individuals or groups are excluded from facilities,
benefits and opportunities that others enjoy.
• How is the food requirement estimated in poverty line?
 The present formula for food requirement while estimating the poverty line is based
on the desired calorie requirement. Food items, such as cereals, pulses, vegetable,
milk, oil, sugar, etc., together provide these needed calories.
• Who advocated that India would be truly independent only when the poorest of its
people become free of human suffering?
A:Mahatma Gandhi
• What are the indicators used by social scientists to understand poverty?
The indicators used by social scientists to understand poverty are :
• Levels of income and consumption
• 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.
Q) Which method is used to estimate the poverty line in India?

The daily income and consumption method are used in India to estimate the poverty line.

• What was the thought of Gandhiji about a truly independent India?

India would be independent only when the poorest of its people will become free of
human sufferings.
• Poverty is a curse upon humanity.” Explain.
i)Indeed ‘poverty is a curse upon humanity because the poor cannot afford belly-full
meals a day.
ii) The poor do not have a proper roof on their heads to protect themselves from
cold, rain and heat.
iii)Basic essentials like clothing, oil and soap etc. are missing in the daily routine of
the poor. They cannot afford a minimum subsistence level of living.
Sick members of the family suffering from serious aliments like TB, cancer etc.
cannot be looked after in the absence of medication.
iv)In the absence of savings on account of
Very low income, the poor fall an easy prey to indebtedness.
v) so there is a feeling of hopelessness and despair among the people due to
poverty.
• Every fourth person in India is poor Substantiate the given statement.
The above statement throws light upon the fact that in India there is poverty all
around us. This implies that roughly 270 million people in India live in poverty. This
also substantiates the fact that India has the largest single concentration of the
poor in the world. India faces the biggest challenge on the poverty front with the
 landless labourers in villages, over crowded jhuggis in cities, daily wage workers,
child workers in the dhabas and beggars around us.
• Explain any three social indicators through which poverty is looked upon.

Poverty today is looked upon through social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of access
to healthcare, lack of job opportunities etc.

(a) People are poor because they are illiterate and they are illiterate because they
are poor.
(b) Poverty is a situation where sick people cannot afford treatment, i.e., they lack
access to healthcare.
c)Poverty also implies lack of a regular job, at a minimum decent level.
• Explain the two methods to estimate poverty line.
Ans. The two methods used to estimate poverty line are:
(a) Income method: It this method, the poverty line is estimated with the help of
minimum income required. In the year 2011-12, the poverty line for a person was
fixed at 816 per month for the rural areas and ₹ 1,000 per month for the urban
areas. The higher amount for urban areas has been fixed because of high prices
of essential products in urban areas.
(b) Consumption method: In this method, the average calorie requirement of a
person is multiplied to the current prices. The accepted average calorie
requirement in India is 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,100
calories per person per day in urban areas.