DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, SUSHANT LOK

Economics: Ch-3 Poverty as a Challenge

Notes

1. List the various dimensions of poverty.

Ans-
1. Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter.
2. Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.
3. It means a sense of helplessness.
4. It also means lack of a regular job at a minimum decent level.
5. It is also a situation where people are not able to send their children to school or where sick people
cannot afford treatment.

2. How is poverty described by social scientists?

Ans-
1. Social scientists view poverty through a variety of indicators.
2. These indicators relate to the levels of income and consumption.
3. Poverty is looked through other social indicators like illiteracy level, malnutrition, lack of access to
healthcare, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation etc.

3. With the help of an example, explain social exclusion.

Ans-
1. According to this concept, poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live only in a poor
surrounding with other poor people, excluded from enjoying social equality of better -off people in
better surroundings.
2. Broadly, we can say that it is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from
facilities, benefits and opportunities that others enjoy.
Example- Working of caste system in India: People belonging to certain castes are excluded from equal
opportunities.
Social Exclusion can cause more damage than having a very low income.

4. What do you mean by Vulnerability?

Ans-
1. Vulnerability to poverty is a measure, which describes the greater probability of certain communities
(say, members of a backward caste) or individuals (such as a widow or a physically handicapped
person) of becoming, or remaining, poor in the coming years.
2. Vulnerability is determined by the options available to different communities for finding an
alternative living in terms of assets, education, health and job opportunities.
 3. Further, it is analyzed on the basis of the greater risks these groups face at the time of natural
disasters (earthquakes, tsunami), terrorism etc.

5. Define Poverty Line. Show with an example how poverty line varies for different countries.
Ans-
1. An imaginary line that is considered appropriate for its existing level of development and its accepted
minimum social norms is called “Poverty Line”.
2. A common method used to measure poverty is based on the income or consumption levels.
3. A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given
“minimum level” necessary to fulfill basic needs.
4. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs is different at different times and in different countries.
5. For example, a person not having a car in the United States may be considered poor. In India, owning
of a car is still considered a luxury.

6. Describe how poverty line is estimated in India.

Ans-
1. 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.
2. The calorie needs vary depending on age, gender and the type of work that a person does. The
accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and
2100 calories per person per day in urban areas.
3. Since people living in rural areas engage themselves in more physical work, calorie requirements in
rural areas are considered to be higher than in urban areas.
4. On the basis of the income, for the year 2011–12, the poverty line for a person was fixed at Rs816
per month for rural areas and Rs 1000 for urban areas. Despite less calorie requirement, the higher
amount for urban areas has been fixed because of high prices of many essential products in urban
centres.

7. Examine the social and economic vulnerable groups in India.

Ans-
1. Social groups, which are most vulnerable to poverty are Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
households.
2. Among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural agricultural labour
households and the urban casual labour households.
3. The double disadvantage of being a landless casual wage labour household in the socially
disadvantaged social groups of the scheduled caste or the scheduled tribe population highlights the
seriousness of the problem.
4. Apart from these social groups, there is also inequality of incomes within a family. In poor families
all suffer, but some suffer more than others. In some cases women, elderly people and female infants
are denied equal access to resources available to the family.
5. Although the average for people below poverty line for all groups in India is 22, 43 out of 100 people
belonging to Scheduled Tribes are not able to meet their basic needs. Similarly, 34 per cent of casual
workers in urban areas are below poverty line. About 34 per cent of casual labour farm (in rural
areas) and 29 per cent of Scheduled Castes are also poor.
8. State the reasons for decline in poverty in some states in India.
Ans-
1. There has been a significant decline in poverty in Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Gujarat and West Bengal.
2. States like Punjab and Haryana have traditionally succeeded in reducing poverty with the help of
high agricultural growth rates.
3. Kerala has focused more on human resource development.
4. In West Bengal, land reform measures have helped in reducing poverty.
5. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu public distribution of food grains could have been responsible
for the improvement.

9. Examine the causes of poverty in India.

Ans-
1. The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged development
of industries like textiles.
2. The low rate of growth resulted in less job opportunities accompanied by a high growth rate of
population.
3. With the spread of irrigation and the Green revolution, many job opportunities were created in the
agriculture sector. But the effects were limited to some parts of India.
4. The industries, both in the public and the private sector, did provide some jobs. But these were not
enough to absorb all the job seekers. Unable to find proper jobs in cities, many people started
working as rickshaw pullers, vendors, construction workers, domestic servants etc.
5. Huge income inequalities due to the unequal distribution of land and other resources. Initiatives like
land reforms which aimed at redistribution of assets in rural areas have not been implemented
properly and effectively.
6. Small farmers need money to buy agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. Since poor
people hardly have any savings, they borrow. Unable to repay because of poverty, they become
victims of indebtedness.
10. Explain the anti-poverty programmes of government of India.
Ans-

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005:

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 aims to provide 100 days of
wage employment to every household to ensure livelihood in rural areas.
• It also aimed at sustainable development to address the cause of draught, deforestation and soil
erosion.
• One-third of the proposed jobs have been reserved for women. The share of SC, ST, Women person
days in the scheme are 23 per cent, 17 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.
• The average wage has increased from 65 in 2006–07 to 132 in 2013–14. In March 2018, the wage
rate for unskilled manual workers has been revised.

2. Prime Minister Rozgar Yozana (PMRY)– 1993:

• The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed
youth in rural areas and small towns.
• They are helped in setting up small business and industries.

3. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP)– 1995:

• The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns.
• A target for creating 25 lakh new jobs has been set for the programme under the Tenth Five Year
plan.

4. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)– 1999:

• The programme aims at bringing the assisted poor families above the poverty line by organizing
them into self-help groups through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy.

5. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yozana (PMGY)– 2000:

• Under this scheme, additional central assistance is given to states for basic services such as primary
health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.
• AAY was launched in December 2000. Under this scheme one crore of the poorest among the BPL
families covered under the targeted public distribution system were identified.
• Poor families were identified by the respective state rural development departments through a Below
Poverty Line (BPL) survey.
• Twenty-five kilograms of food grains were made available to each eligible family at a highly
subsidized rate of 2 per kg for wheat and 3 per kg for rice. This quantity has been enhanced from 25
 to 35 kg with effect from April 2002.

11. List the challenges faced by anti-poverty programmes.

OR
Elucidate the reasons for less effectiveness of anti-poverty programmes.
Ans-
1. Lack of proper implementation and right targeting.
2. A lot of overlapping of schemes.
3. Despite good intentions, the benefits of these schemes are not fully reached to the deserving poor.
 Important Terms

1. Poverty- Poverty is a lack of basic human needs such as nutrition, healthcare, education, clothing and
shelter because of the inability to afford them.
2. Social Exclusion- According to this concept, poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live
only in a poor surrounding with other people, excluded from enjoying social equality of better-off people
in better surroundings.
3. Vulnerability- Vulnerability describes the greater probability of certain communities or individuals of
becoming, or remaining, poor in the coming years.
4. Poverty Line- Poverty Line is an imaginary line that is considered appropriate for its existing level of
development and its accepted minimum social norms.
5. Human Poverty- Human poverty is not about a ‘minimum’ subsistence level of living rather a
‘reasonable’ level of living which includes providing health care, education and achieving gender
equality.