posted by bhawna bhardwaj.

1. Poverty in India
Share of population in extreme poverty, 1981 to 2017
Poverty rate map of India by prevalence in 2012, among its states and union territories
Slums near the international airport in Mumbai/Bombay
India Poverty rate since 1993 based on World Bank $2.00 ppp value

2. India is a developing nation. Although its economy is growing, poverty is still a major challenge.
However, poverty is on the decline in India. According to an International Monetary Fund paper,
extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on US$1.9 or less in purchasing power parity
(PPP) terms, in India was as low as 0.8% in 2019 and the country managed to keep it at that level in
2020 despite the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. [1][2] According to World Bank, extreme
poverty has reduced by 12.3% between 2011 and 2019 from 22.5% in 2011 to 10.2% in 2019. A
working paper of the bank said rural poverty declined from 26.3% in 2011 to 11.6% in 2019. The
decline in urban areas was from 14.2% to 6.3% in the same period.The poverty level in rural and
urban areas went down by 14.7 and 7.9 percentage points, respectively.[3] According to United
Nations Development Programme administrator Achim Steiner, India lifted 271 million people out of
extreme poverty in a 10-year time period from 2005–2006 to 2015–2016. A 2020 study from the
World Economic Forum found "Some 220 million Indians sustained on an expenditure level of less
than Rs 32 / day—the poverty line for rural India—by the last headcount of the poor in India in
2013."[4]
The World Bank has been revising its definition and benchmarks to measure poverty since 1990–
1991, with a $0.2 per day income on purchasing power parity basis as the definition in use from
2005 to 2013.[5] Some semi-economic and non-economic indices have also been proposed to
measure poverty in India. For example, in order to determine whether a person is poor, the Multi-
dimensional Poverty Index places a 13% weight on the number of years that person spent in school
or engaged in education and a 6.25% weight on the financial condition of that person.[6]
The different definitions and underlying small sample surveys used to determine poverty in India
have resulted in widely varying estimates of poverty from the 1950s to 2010s. In 2019, the Indian
government stated that 6.7% of its population is below its official poverty limit.[7] Based on 2019's
PPPs International Comparison Program,[8][9] According to the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) programme, 80 million people out of 1.2 billion Indians, roughly equal to
6.7% of India's population, lived below the poverty line of $1.25 [10] and 84% of Indians lived on less
than $6.85 per day in 2019.[11]
From the late 19th century through the early 20th century, under the British Raj, poverty in India
intensified, peaking in the 1920s.[12][13] Famines and diseases killed millions in multiple vicious
cycles throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.[14][15] After India gained its independence in
1947, mass deaths from famines were prevented.[16] Since 1991, rapid economic growth has led to
a sharp reduction in extreme poverty in India.[17][18] However, those above the poverty line live a
fragile economic life.[19] As per the methodology of the Suresh Tendulkar Committee report, the
population below the poverty line in India was 354 million (29.6% of the population) in 2009–2010
and was 69 million (21.9% of the population) in 2011–2012.[20] In 2014, the Rangarajan Committee
said that the population below the poverty line was 454 million (38.2% of the population) in 2009–
2010 and was 363 million (29.5% of the population) in 2011–2012.[21] Deutsche Bank Research
estimated that there are nearly 300 million people who are in the middle class.[22] If these previous
trends continue, India's share of world GDP will significantly increase from 7.3% in 2016 to 8.5% by
2020.[23] In 2012, around 170 million people, or 12.4% of India's population, lived in poverty
(defined as $1.90 (Rs 123.5)), an improvement from 29.8% of India's population in 2009.[24][25] In
their paper, economists Sandhya Krishnan and Neeraj Hatekar conclude that 600 million people, or
more than half of India's population, belong to the middle class.[26]

3. The Asian Development Bank estimates India's population to be at 1.28 billion with an average
growth rate of 1.3% from 2010 to 2015. In 2014, 9.9% of the population aged 15 years and above
were employed. 6.9% of the population still lives below the national poverty line and 63% in extreme
poverty (December 2018)[27] The World Poverty Clock shows real-time poverty trends in India,
which are based on the latest data, of the World Bank, among others. As per recent estimates, the
country is well on its way of ending extreme poverty by meeting its sustainable development goals
by 2030.[28] According to Oxfam, India's top 1% of the population now holds 73% of the wealth,
while 670 million citizens, comprising the country's poorest half, saw their wealth rise by just 1%.[29]
Contents
1 Definition of poverty
2 Poverty prevalence and estimates
2.1 After Independence
2.1.1 1950s
2.1.2 1960s
2.1.3 1970s – 1980s
2.1.4 1990s
2.1.5 2000s
2.1.6 Reserve Bank of India (2012)
2.1.7 2010s
2.1.8 Semi-economic measures of poverty
3 Other estimates
4 Economic impact of British imperialism
5 Reduction in poverty
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
Definition of poverty

4. Poverty is the state of not having enough material possessions or income for a person basic need.
Poverty may include social, economic, and political elements. Absolute poverty is the complete lack
of the means necessary to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
Economic measures
There are several definitions of poverty, and scholars disagree as to which definition is appropriate
for India.[30][31] Inside India, both income-based poverty definition and consumption-based
poverty statistics are in use.[32] Outside India, the World Bank and institutions of the United Nations
use a broader definition to compare poverty among nations, including India, based on purchasing
power parity (PPP), as well as nominal relative basis.[33][34] Each state in India has its own poverty
threshold to determine how many people are below its poverty line and to reflect regional economic
conditions. These differences in definitions yield a complex and conflicting picture about poverty in
India, both internally and when compared to other developing countries of the world.[35]
According to the World Bank, India accounted for the world's largest number of poor people in 2012
using revised methodology to measure poverty, reflecting its massive population. However, in terms
of percentage, it scored somewhat lower than other countries holding large poor populations.[36] In
July 2018, World Poverty Clock, a Vienna-based think tank, reported that a minimal 5.3% or 70.6
million Indians lived in extreme poverty compared to 44% or 87 million Nigerians. In 2019, Nigeria
and Congo surpassed India in terms of total population earning below $1.9 a day.[37][38] Although
India is expected to meet the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals on extreme poverty in
due time, a very large share of its population lives on less than $3.2 a day, putting India's economy
safely into the category of lower middle income economies.
As with many countries,[39] poverty was historically defined and estimated in India using a
sustenance food standard. This methodology has been revised. India's current official poverty rates
are based on its Planning Commission's data derived from so-called Tendulkar methodology.[40] It
defines poverty not in terms of annual income, but in terms of consumption or spending per
individual over a certain period for a basket of essential goods. Furthermore, this methodology sets
different poverty lines for rural and urban areas. Since 2007, India has set its official threshold at ₹
26 a day ($0.43) in rural areas and about ₹ 32 per day ($0.53) in urban areas.[41] While these
numbers are lower than the World Bank's $1.25 per day income-based definition, the definition is
similar to China's US$0.65 per day official poverty line in 2008.[42]
The World Bank's international poverty line definition is based on purchasing power parity basis, at
$1.25 per day.[43][44] This definition is motivated by the fact that the price of the same goods and
services can differ significantly when converted into local currencies around the world. A realistic
definition and comparison of poverty must consider these differences in costs of living, or must be
on purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. On this basis, currency fluctuations and nominal numbers
become less important, the definition is based on the local costs of a basket of essential goods and
services that people can purchase. By World Bank's 2014 PPP definition, India's poverty rate is
significantly lower than previously believed.[35]
Mixed, semi-economic and non-economic measures

5. As with economic measures, there are many mixed or non-economic measures of poverty and
experts contest which one is most appropriate for India. For example, Dandekar and Rath in 1971
suggested a measure of poverty rate that was based on number of calories consumed.[45] In 2011,
Alkire et al. suggested a poverty rate measure so-called Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI),
which only puts a 6.25% weight to assets owned by a person and places 33% weight on education
and number of years spent in school.[6] These non-economic measures remain controversial and
contested as a measure of poverty rate of any nation, including India.[46][47]
National poverty lines comparison
(Note: this is historical data, not current)
Country
Poverty line
(per day)
Year Reference
India 32 rupees ($0.5) 2017 [41]
Argentina 481 pesos ($11.81) 2017 [48]
China 6.3 yuan ($1) 2011 [49]
Nigeria 65 naira ($0.4) 2011 [50]
United States $14[51] 2005 [52][53]
Comparison with alternate international definitions
India determines its household poverty line by summing up the individual per capita poverty lines of
the household members. This practice is similar to many developing countries, but different from
developed countries such as the United States who adjusts their poverty line on an incremental basis
per additional household member. For example, in the United States, the poverty line for a
household with just one member was set at $11,670 per year for 2014, while it was set at $23,850
per year for a 4-member household (or $5963 per person for the larger household).[53] The
rationale for the differences arise from the economic realities of each country. In India, households
may include surviving grandparents, parents, and children. They typically do not incur any or
significant rent expenses every month particularly in rural India, unlike housing in mostly urban
developed economies. The cost of food and other essentials are shared within the household by its
members in both cases. However, a larger portion of a monthly expenditure goes to food in poor
households in developing countries,[54] while housing, conveyance, and other essentials cost
significantly more in developed economies.
For its current poverty rate measurements, India calculates two benchmarks. The first includes a
basket of goods, including food items but excluding the implied value of home, value of any means
of conveyance or the economic value of other essentials created, grown or used without a financial
transaction, by the members of a household. The second poverty line benchmark adds rent value of
residence as well as the cost of conveyance, but nothing else, to the first benchmark.[55] This
practice is similar to those used in developed countries for non-cash income equivalents and a
poverty line basis.[56][57]

6. India's proposed but not yet adopted official poverty line, in 2014, was ₹972 (US$12) a month in
rural areas or ₹1,407 (US$18) a month in cities. The current poverty line is 1,059.42 Indian Rupees
(62 PPP USD) per month in rural areas and 1,286 Indian rupees (75 PPP USD) per month in urban
areas.[58] India's nationwide average poverty line differs from each state's poverty line. For
example, in 2011–2012, Puducherry had its highest poverty line of ₹1,301 (US$16) a month in rural
and ₹1,309 (US$16) a month in urban areas, while Odisha had the lowest poverty thresholds of ₹695
(US$8.70) a month for rural and ₹861 (US$11) a month for its urban areas.[59]
Poverty prevalence and estimates
The 19th century and early 20th century saw increasing poverty in India during the colonial
era.[12][60] Over this period, the colonial government de-industrialized India by reducing garments
and other finished products manufactured by artisans in India. Instead, they imported these
products from Britain's expanding industry due to the many industrial innovations of the 19th
century. Additionally, the government simultaneously encouraged the conversion of more land into
farms and more agricultural exports from India.[61][62] Eastern regions of India along the Ganges
river plains, such as those now known as eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal,[63] were dedicated to producing poppy and opium. These items were then exported to
southeast and east Asia, particularly China. The East India Company initially held an exclusive
monopoly over these exports, and the colonial British institutions later did so as well.[64] The
economic importance of this shift from industry to agriculture in India was large;[65] by 1850, it
created nearly 1,000 square kilometres of poppy farms India's fertile Ganges plains. This
consequently led to two opium wars in Asia, with the second opium war fought between 1856 and
1860. After China agreed to be a part of the opium trade, the colonial government dedicated more
land exclusively to poppy.[62] The opium agriculture in India rose from 1850 through 1900, when
over 500,000 acres of the most fertile Ganges basin farms were devoted to poppy cultivation.[66]
Additionally, opium processing factories owned by colonial officials were expanded in Benares and
Patna, and shipping expanded from Bengal to the ports of East Asia such as Hong Kong, all under
exclusive monopoly of the British. By the early 20th century, 3 out of 4 Indians were employed in
agriculture, famines were common, and food consumption per capita declined in every decade.[13]
In London, the late 19th century British parliament debated the repeated incidence of famines in
India, and the impoverishment of Indians due to this diversion of agriculture land from growing food
staples to growing poppy for opium export under orders of the colonial British empire.[62][66]

7. Poverty was intense during colonial era India. Numerous famines and epidemics killed millions of
people each.[14][67] Upper image is from 1876 to 1879 famine in South of British India that starved
and killed over 6 million people, while lower image is of child who starved to death during the
Bengal famine of 1943.
These colonial policies moved unemployed artisans into farming, and transformed India into a region
increasingly abundant in land, unskilled labour, and low productivity. This consequently made India
scarce in skilled labour, capital and knowledge.[12][13] On an inflation adjusted 1973 rupee basis,
the average income of an Indian agrarian labourer was Rs. 7.20 per year in 1885, against an inflation
adjusted poverty line of Rs. 23.90 per year. Thus, not only was the average income below the
poverty line, but the intensity of poverty was also severe. The intensity of poverty increased from
1885 to 1921, before being reversed. However, the absolute poverty rates continued to be very high
through the 1930s.[12][68] The colonial policies on taxation and its recognition of land ownership
claims of zamindars and mansabdars, or Mughal era nobility, made a minority of families wealthy.
Additionally, these policies weakened the ability of poorer peasants to command land and credit.
The resulting rising landlessness and stagnant real wages intensified poverty.[12][69]
The National Planning Committee of 1936 noted the appalling poverty of undivided India.[70]
(...) there was lack of food, of clothing, of housing and of every other essential requirement of
human existence... the development policy objective should be to get rid of the appalling poverty of
the people.
— Nehru, The Discovery of India, (1946)
The National Planning Committee, notes Suryanarayana, then defined goals in 1936 to alleviate
poverty by setting targets in terms of nutrition (2400 to 2800 calories per adult worker), clothing (30
yards per capita per annum) and housing (100 sq. ft per capita).[70] This method of linking poverty
as a function of nutrition, clothing and housing continued in India after it became independent from
British colonial empire.
These poverty alleviation goals were theoretical, with administrative powers resident in the British
Empire. Poverty ravaged India. In 1943, for example, despite rising agricultural output in undivided
South Asia, the Bengal famine killed millions of Indians from starvation, disease and destitution.
Destitution was so intense in Bengal, Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa, that entire
families and villages were "wiped out" of existence. Village artisans, along with sustenance farming
families, died from lack of food, malnutrition and a wave of diseases.[15] The 1943 famine was not
an isolated tragedy. Devastating famines impoverished India every 5 to 8 years in the late 19th

8. century and the first half of the 20th century. Between 6.1 and 10.3 million people starved to death
in British India during the 1876–1879 famine, while another 6.1 to 8.4 million people died during the
1896–1898 famine.[71] The Lancet reported that 19 million people died from starvation and the
consequences of extreme poverty in British India between 1896 and 1900.[72] Sir MacDonnell
observed the suffering and poverty in 1900, and noted, "people died like flies" in Bombay.[73]
After Independence
1950s
Year[74]
Total
Population
(millions)
50%lived on
(₹ / year)
95% lived on
(₹ / year)
1956–57 359 180 443
1961–62 445 204 498
1967–68 514 222 512
Minhas published his estimates of poverty rates in 1950s India as cyclical and a strong function of
each year's harvest. Minhas disagreed with the practice of using calories as the basis for poverty
estimation and proposed a poverty line based on real expenditure per year (Rs 240 per annum). In
1956–57, a good harvest year, he computed India's poverty rate to be 65% (215 million
people).[74][75] For 1960, Minhas estimated the poverty to be 59%.[76]
1960s
A Working Group was formed in 1962 to attempt to set a poverty line for India.[77][78] This Working
Group used calories required for survival, and income needed to buy those calories in different parts
of rural India, to derive an average poverty line of Rs. 20 per month at 1960–61 prices.[79]
Estimates of poverty in India during the 1960s varied widely. Dandekar and Rath, on the behalf of
then Indian government, estimated that the poverty rate in 1960s remained generally constant at
41%. Ojha, in contrast, estimated that there were 190 million people (44%) in India below official
poverty limit in 1961, and that this below-poverty line number increased to 289 million people (70%)
in 1967. Bardhan also concluded that Indian poverty rates increased through the 1960s, reaching a
high of 54%.[76][80] Those above the 1960s poverty level of Rs 240 per year, were in fragile
economic groups as well and not doing well either. Minhas estimated that 95% of India's people
lived on Rs 458 per year in 1963–64, while the richest 5% lived on an average of Rs 645 per year (all
numbers inflation adjusted to 1960–61 Rupee).[74]
1970s – 1980s
Dandekar and Rath[81] in 1971 used a daily intake of 2,250 calories per person to define the poverty
line for India. Using NSSO data regarding household expenditures for 1960–61, they determined that
in order to achieve this food intake and other daily necessities, a rural dweller required an annual
income of ₹ 170.80 per year (₹ 14.20 per month, adjusted to 1971 Rupee). An urban dweller

9. required ₹ 271.70 per year (₹ 22.60 per month). They concluded from this study that 40 percent of
rural residents and 50 percent of urban residents were below the poverty line in 1960–61.[82]
Poverty alleviation has been a driver for India's Planning Commission's Task Force on Projections of
Minimum Needs and Effective Consumption Demand of the Perspective Planning Division. This
division, in 1979, took into account differences in calorie requirements for different age groups,
activity levels, and sex. They determined that the average rural dweller needed around 2400
calories, and those in urban areas required about 2100 calories per person per day. To satisfy the
food requirement, the Task Force estimated that a consumer spending in 1973–74 of Rs.49.09 per
person per month in rural areas and Rs.56.64 in urban areas was appropriate measure to estimate
its poverty line.[83]
Poverty remained stubbornly high in India through the 1970s and 1980s. It created slogans such as
Garibi Hatao (meaning eliminate poverty) for political campaigns, during elections in early 1970s
through the 1980s.[84] Rural poverty rate exceeded 50%, using India's official poverty line for
1970s.[85][86]
Additionally, in 1976, the Indian government passed the Bonded Labor System Act in an effort to end
debt bondage in India, a practice which contributes to generational poverty.[87] Nevertheless, this
system is still in place today due to weak enforcement of this law.[87]
1990s
Another Expert Group was instituted in 1993, chaired by Lakdawala, to examine poverty line for
India. It recommended that regional economic differences are large enough that poverty lines
should be calculated for each state. From then on, a standard list of commodities were drawn up
and priced in each state of the nation, using 1973–74 as a base year. This basket of goods could then
be re-priced each year and comparisons made between regions. The Government of India began
using a modified version of this method of calculating the poverty line in India.[88]
There are wide variations in India's poverty estimates for 1990s, in part from differences in the
methodology and in the small sample surveys they poll for the underlying data. A 2007 report for
example, using data for late 1990s, stated that 77% of Indians lived on less than ₹ 20 a day (about
US$0.50 per day).[89] In contrast, S.G.Datt estimated India's national poverty rate to be 35% in 1994,
at India's then official poverty line of Rs 49 per capita, with consumer price index adjusted to June
1974 rural prices.[86]
2000s
The Saxena Committee report, using data from 1972 to 2000, separated calorific intake apart from
nominal income in its economic analysis of poverty in India, and then stated that 50% of Indians
lived below the poverty line.[90] The Planning Commission of India, in contrast, determined that the
poverty rate was 39%.
The National Council of Applied Economic Research estimated that 48% of the Indian households
earn more than ₹90,000 (US$1,127.10) annually (or more than US$ 3 PPP per person). According to
NCAER, in 2009, of the 222 million households in India, the absolutely poor households (annual
incomes below ₹45,000 (US$560)) accounted for only 15.6% of them or about 35 million (about 200

10. million Indians). Another 80 million households are in the income levels of ₹45,000 (US$560) to
₹90,000 (US$1,100) per year. These numbers are similar to World Bank estimates of the "below-the-
poverty-line" households that may total about 100 million (or about 456 million individuals).[91]
The Suresh Tendulkar Committee set up to look into the people living under the poverty line in India
submitted its report in November 2009.[92] It provided a new method of calculating the poverty line
based on per capita consumption expenditure per month or day. For rural areas, it was Rs 816 per
month or Rs 27 per day. For urban areas, it was Rs 1000 per month or Rs 33 per day. Using this
methodology, the population below the poverty line in 2009–2010 was 354 million (29.6% of the
population) and that in 2011–2012 was 269 million (21.9% of the population).[93]
Reserve Bank of India (2012)
In its annual report of 2012, the Reserve Bank of India named the state of Goa as having the least
poverty of 5.09% while the national average stood at 21.92%[7] The table below presents the
poverty statistics for rural, urban and combined percentage below poverty line (BPL) for each State
or Union Territory.[7] The highest poverty statistics for each category column is coloured light red
and the lowest poverty statistics for each category column is coloured light Blue in the table below.
hideState or
Union
Territory
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Rural
% of
Person
s
(Rural)
below
povert
y line
Poverty
line
(Rs)/mont
h (Rural)
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Urban
% of
Person
s
(Urban
)
below
povert
y line
Poverty
line
(Rs)/mont
h (Urban)
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Combined
% of
Persons
(Combined
)
below
poverty
line
Andhra
Pradesh
6180 10.96 860.00 1698 5.81 1009.00 7878 9.20
Arunachal
Pradesh
425 38.93 930.00 66 20.33 1060.00 491 34.67
Assam 9206 33.89 828.00 921 30.49 1008.00 10127 31.98
Bihar 32040 34.06 778.00 3775 31.23 923.00 35815 33.74
Chhattisgarh 8890 44.61 738.00 1522 24.75 849.00 10411 39.93
Goa 37 6.81 1090.00 38 4.09 1134.00 75 5.09
Gujarat 7535 21.50 932.00 2688 10.14 1152.00 10223 16.63
Haryana 1942 11.64 1015.00 941 10.28 1169.00 2883 11.16
Himachal 529 8.48 913.00 30 4.33 1064.00 559 8.06

11. hideState or
Union
Territory
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Rural
% of
Person
s
(Rural)
below
povert
y line
Poverty
line
(Rs)/mont
h (Rural)
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Urban
% of
Person
s
(Urban
)
below
povert
y line
Poverty
line
(Rs)/mont
h (Urban)
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Combined
% of
Persons
(Combined
)
below
poverty
line
Pradesh
Jammu &
Kashmir
1073 11.54 891.00 253 7.20 988.00 1327 10.35
Jharkhand 10409 40.84 748.00 2024 24.83 974.00 12433 36.96
Karnataka 9280 24.53 902.00 3696 15.25 1089.00 12976 20.91
Kerala 1548 9.14 1018.00 846 4.97 987.00 2395 7.05
Madhya
Pradesh
19095 35.74 771.00 4310 21.00 897.00 23406 31.65
Maharashtr
a
15056 24.22 967.00 4736 9.12 1126.00 19792 17.35
Manipur 745 38.80 1118.00 278 32.59 1170.00 1022 36.89
Meghalaya 304 12.53 888.00 57 9.26 1154.00 361 11.87
Mizoram 191 35.43 1066.00 37 6.36 1155.00 227 20.40
Nagaland 276 19.93 1270.00 100 16.48 1302.00 376 18.88
Odisha 12614 35.69 695.00 1239 17.29 861.00 13853 32.59
Punjab 1335 7.66 1054.00 982 9.24 1155.00 2318 8.26
Rajasthan 8419 16.05 905.00 1873 10.69 1002.00 10292 14.72
Sikkim 45 9.85 930.00 6 3.66 1226.00 51 8.19
Tamil Nadu 5923 15.83 880.00 2340 6.54 937.00 8263 11.28
Tripura 449 16.53 798.00 75 7.42 920.00 524 14.05
Uttar 47935 30.40 768.00 11884 26.06 941.00 59819 29.43

12. hideState or
Union
Territory
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Rural
% of
Person
s
(Rural)
below
povert
y line
Poverty
line
(Rs)/mont
h (Rural)
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Urban
% of
Person
s
(Urban
)
below
povert
y line
Poverty
line
(Rs)/mont
h (Urban)
No. of
Persons
(Thousands
) Combined
% of
Persons
(Combined
)
below
poverty
line
Pradesh
Uttarakhand 825 11.62 880.00 335 10.48 1082.00 1160 11.26
West Bengal 14114 22.52 783.00 4383 14.66 981.00 18498 19.98
Andaman &
Nicobar
Islands
4 1.57 – 0 0.00 – 4 1.00
Chandigarh 0 0.00 – 234 22.31 – 235 21.81
Dadra &
Nagar Haveli
115 62.59 – 28 15.38 – 143 39.31
Daman and
Diu
0 0.00 – 26 12.62 – 26 9.86
Delhi 50 12.92 1145.00 1646 9.84 1134.00 1696 9.91
Lakshadwee
p
0 0.00 – 2 3.44 – 2 2.77
Puducherry 69 17.06 1301.00 55 6.30 1309.00 124 9.69
India 216658 25.70 816.00 53125 13.70 1000.00 269783 21.92
2010s
The World Bank has reviewed its poverty definition and calculation methodologies several times
over the last 25 years. In early 1990s, The World Bank anchored absolute poverty line as $1 per day.
This was revised in 1993, and the absolute poverty line was set at $1.08 a day for all countries on a
purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, after adjusting for inflation to the 1993 US dollar. In 2005, after
extensive studies of the cost of living across the world, The World Bank raised the measure for global
poverty line to reflect the observed higher cost of living.[5] Thereafter, the World Bank determined
poverty rates from those living on less than US$1.25 per day on 2005 PPP basis, a measure that has
been widely used in media and scholarly circles.

13. In May 2014, after revisiting its poverty definition, methodology and economic changes around the
world, the World Bank proposed another major revision to PPP calculation methodology,
international poverty line and indexing it to 2011 US dollar.[35] The new method proposes setting
poverty line at $1.78 per day on 2011 PPP basis. According to this revised World Bank methodology,
India had 179.6 million people below the new poverty line, China had 137.6 million, and the world
had 872.3 million people below the new poverty line on an equivalent basis as of 2013. India, in
other words, while having 17.5% of total world's population, had 20.6% share of world's poor.[9][35]
In October 2015, the World Bank updated the international poverty line to US$1.90 a day.
The Rangarajan Committee set up to look into the poverty line estimation in India submitted its
report in June 2014.[94] It amended the calculation of the poverty line based on per capita
consumption expenditure per month or day given by the Tendulkar Committee.[95] The new
poverty threshold for rural areas was fixed at Rs 972 per month or Rs 32 per day. For urban areas, it
was fixed at Rs 1407 per month or Rs 47 per day. Under this methodology, the population below the
poverty line in 2009–2010 was 454 million (38.2% of the population) and that in 2011–2012 was 363
million (29.5% of the population).[96]
From November 2017, the World Bank started reporting poverty rates for all countries using two
new international poverty lines: a "lower middle-income" line set at $3.20 per day and an "upper
middle-income" line set at $5.50 per day. These are in addition to the earlier poverty line of $1.90
per day. The new lines are supposed to serve two purposes. One, they account for the fact that
achieving the same set of capabilities may need a different set of goods and services in different
countries and, specifically, a costlier set in richer countries. Second, they allow for cross-country
comparisons and benchmarking both within and across developing regions. India falls in the lower
middle-income category. Using the $3.20 per day poverty line, the percentage of the population
living in poverty in India (2011) was 60%. This means that 763 million people in India were living
below this poverty line in 2011.[97]
Semi-economic measures of poverty
Other measures such as the semi-economic Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which places
33% weight on education and number of schooling years in its definition of poverty, and places
6.25% weight on income and assets owned, suggests there were 650 million people (53.7% of
population) living in MPI-poverty in India.[6] 421 million of MPI-defined poor are concentrated in
eight North Indian and East Indian states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The table below presents this semi-economic poverty
among the states of India based on the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index, using a small sample
survey data for Indian states in 2005.[98]
showMPI
rank
States
Population
(in millions)
2007
MPI
Proportion
of MPI-poor
Average
intensity
Contribution to
overall MPI-
poverty
Number of
MPI poor (in
millions)
— India 1,164.7 0.296 55.4% 53.5% – 645.0
1 Kerala 35.0 0.065 15.9% 40.9% 0.6% 5.6

14. showMPI
rank
States
Population
(in millions)
2007
MPI
Proportion
of MPI-poor
Average
intensity
Contribution to
overall MPI-
poverty
Number of
MPI poor (in
millions)
2 Goa 1.6 0.094 21.7% 43.4% 0.0% 0.4
3 Punjab 27.1 0.120 26.2% 46.0% 1.0% 7.1
4
Himachal
Pradesh
6.7 0.131 31.0% 42.3% 0.3% 2.1
5 Tamil Nadu 68.0 0.141 32.4% 43.6% 2.6% 22.0
6 Uttarakhand 9.6 0.189 40.3% 46.9% 0.5% 3.9
7 Maharashtra 108.7 0.193 40.1% 48.1% 6.0% 43.6
8 Haryana 24.1 0.199 41.6% 47.9% 1.3% 10.0
9 Gujarat 98.3 0.205 21.5% 49.2% 0.4% 0.8
10
Jammu and
Kashmir
12.2 0.209 43.8% 47.7% 0.7% 5.4
11
Andhra
Pradesh
83.9 0.211 44.7% 47.1% 5.1% 37.5
12 Karnataka 58.6 0.223 46.1% 48.3% 4.2% 27.0
13
Northeast
Indian States
44.2 0.303 57.6% 52.5% 4.0% 25.5
14 West Bengal 89.5 0.317 58.3% 54.3% 8.5% 52.2
15 Orissa 40.7 0.345 64.0% 54.0% 4.3% 26.0
16 Rajasthan 65.4 0.351 64.2% 54.7% 7.0% 41.9
17 Uttar Pradesh 192.6 0.386 69.9% 55.2% 21.3% 134.7
18 Chhattisgarh 23.9 0.387 71.9% 53.9% 2.9% 17.2
19
Madhya
Pradesh
70.0 0.389 69.5% 56.0% 8.5% 48.6
20 Jharkhand 30.5 0.463 77.0% 60.2% 4.2% 23.5

15. showMPI
rank
States
Population
(in millions)
2007
MPI
Proportion
of MPI-poor
Average
intensity
Contribution to
overall MPI-
poverty
Number of
MPI poor (in
millions)
21 Bihar 95.0 0.499 81.4% 61.3% 13.5% 77.3
Other estimates
According to a 2011 poverty Development Goals Report, as many as 320 million people in India and
China are expected to come out of extreme poverty in the next four years, with India's poverty rate
projected to drop from 51% in 1990 to about 22% in 2015.[99] The report also indicates that in
Southern Asia, only India is on track to cut poverty by half by the 2015 target date.[99] In 2015,
according to United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MGD) programme, India has already
achieved the target of reducing poverty by half, with 24.7% of its 1.2 billion people in 2011 living
below the poverty line or having income of less than $1.25 a day, the U.N. report said. The same
figure was 49.4% in 1994. India had set a target of 23.9% to be achieved by 2015.[100]
According to Global Wealth Report 2016[101] compiled by Credit Suisse Research Institute, India is
the second most unequal country in the world with the top one per cent of the population owning
58% of the total wealth.[102]
Global Hunger Index
Global Hunger Index (GHI) is an index that places a third of weight on proportion of the population
that is estimated to be undernourished, a third on the estimated prevalence of low body weight to
height ratio in children younger than five, and remaining third weight on the proportion of children
dying before the age of five for any reason. According to 2011 GHI report, India has improved its
performance by 22% in 20 years, from 30.4 to 23.7 over 1990 to 2011 period.[103] However, its
performance from 2001 to 2011 has shown little progress, with just 3% improvement. A sharp
reduction in the percentage of underweight children has helped India improve its hunger record on
the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2014. India now ranks 55 among 76 emerging economies. Between
2005 and 2014, the prevalence of underweight children under the age of five fell from 43.5% to
30.7%.[104]
Poverty: 2011–2012 Percentage of people by Caste[105]
Findings below are based on a survey conducted during 2011–12. Total population of India then:
1,276,267,631
Caste-wise population distribution:[105]
Caste % of total population No. of People
FC 28.0% 357M
OBC 44.1% 563M

16. SC 19.0% 242M
ST 8.9% 114M
Total 100% 1276M
Poverty in India based on caste:[105]
Caste % of Poverty (intra-caste) No. of People % of Poverty in total population
FC 12.5% 44.6M 3.5%
OBC 20.7% 116.5M 9.1%
SC 29.4% 71.2M 5.8%
ST 43.0% 49.0M 3.8%
Total - 281M 22%
From the above 2 tables, we could derive the following to see if the distribution of poverty follows as
that of the total population:
Caste % of total population Poverty % over poverty population
FC 28.0% 15.9%
OBC 44.1% 41.4%
SC 19.0% 25.3%
ST 8.9% 17.4%
Poverty in India based on Social and Religious Classes: The Sachar Committee looked at the Poverty
by Social and Religious Classes[106]
Social and Religious Class Percentage of Living in Poverty
Urban Hindus 20.4%
Urban Hindu General 8.3%
Urban Hindu OBC 25.1%
Urban Hindu SC/ST 36.4%

17. Urban Muslims 38.4%
Urban Other Minorities 12.2%
Rural Hindus 22.6%
Rural Hindu General 9.0%
Rural Hindu OBC 19.5%
Rural Hindu SC/ST 34.8%
Rural Muslims 26.9%
Rural Other Minorities 14.3%
Economic impact of British imperialism
The subject of the economic impact of British imperialism on India was raised by British Whig
politician Edmund Burke who in 1778 began a seven-year impeachment trial against Warren
Hastings and the East India Company on charges including mismanagement of the Indian economy.
Contemporary historian Rajat Kanta Ray argues the economy established by the British in the 18th
century was a form of plunder and a catastrophe for the traditional economy of India, depleting food
and money stocks and imposing high taxes that helped cause the famine of 1770, which killed a third
of the people of Bengal.[107]
Reduction in poverty
Main article: Poverty alleviation programmes in India
Since the 1950s, the Indian government and non-governmental organisations have initiated several
programs to alleviate poverty, including subsidising food and other necessities, increased access to
loans, improving agricultural techniques and price supports, promoting education, and family
planning. These measures have helped eliminate famines, cut absolute poverty levels by more than
half, and reduced illiteracy and malnutrition.
Although the Indian economy has grown steadily over the last two decades, its growth has been
uneven when comparing social groups, economic groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban
areas.[108][109] For the year 2015–16, the GSDP growth rates of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya
Pradesh was higher than Maharashtra, Odisha or Punjab.[110] Though GDP growth rate matters a
lot economically, the debate is moving towards another consensus in India, where unhealthy
infatuation with GDP growth matters less and holistic development or all-inclusive growth matters
more.[111] While India may well be on the path to eradicating extreme poverty, it still lags well
behind in other important development indicators, even in comparison to some of its neighbouring
countries, especially in regard to health and education.[112]
Despite significant economic progress, one quarter of the nation's population earns less than the
government-specified poverty threshold of ₹32 per day (approximately US$ 0.6).[113]

18. According to the 2001 census, 35.5% of Indian households used banking services, 35.1% owned a
radio or transistor, 31.6% a television, 9.1% a phone, 43.7% a bicycle, 11.7% a scooter, motorcycle or
a moped, and 2.5% a car, jeep or van; 34.5% of the households had none of these assets.[114]
According to Department of Telecommunications of India, the phone density reached 73.34% by
December 2012 and as an annual growth decreased by −4.58%.[115] This tallies with the fact that a
family of four with an annual income of ₹137,000 (US$1,700) could afford some of these luxury
items.
The World Bank's Global Monitoring Report for 2014–15 on the Millennium Development Goals says
India has been the biggest contributor to poverty reduction between 2008 and 2011, with around
140 million or so lifted out of absolute poverty.[116] Since the early 1950s, the Indian government
has initiated various schemes to help the poor attain self-sufficiency in food production. A few
examples of these initiatives include ration cards and price controls over the supply of basic
commodities, particularly food at controlled prices, available throughout the country. These efforts
prevented famines, but did little to eliminate or reduce poverty in rural or urban areas between
1950 and 1980.[117]
India's rapid economic growth rate since 1991 is one of the main reasons for a record decline in
poverty.[17][18][118] Another reason proposed is India's launch of social welfare programs such as
the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the Midday Meal
Scheme in government schools.[119] In a 2012 study, Klonner and Oldiges, concluded that
MGNREGA helps reduce rural poverty gap (intensity of rural poverty) and seasonal poverty, but not
overall poverty.[120][121] However, there is a disturbing side, as deprivation has tended to increase,
and that too among the most deprived sections. According to the latest statistics published by the
Census of India, among scheduled tribes, 44.7% of people were farmers working on their own land in
2001; however, this number came down to 34.5% in 2011. Among scheduled castes, this number
declined from 20% to 14.8% during the same period. This data is corroborated by other data from
the census, which also says that the number of people who were working on others' land (landless
laborers), increased from 36.9% in 2001 to 44.4% among scheduled castes SC and from 45.6% to
45.9% among scheduled tribes.[122]
India has achieved annual growth exceeding 7 percent over the last 15 years and continues to pull
millions of people out of poverty, according to the World Bank. The country has halved its poverty
rate over the past three decades and has seen strong improvements in most human development
outcomes, a report by the international financial institution has found. Growth is expected to
continue and the elimination of extreme poverty in the next decade is within reach, said the bank,
which warned that the country's development trajectory faces considerable challenges.[123]
See also
Economic and socio-economic
Economy of India
Income in India
India State Hunger Index

19. Poverty rate by state
Labour in India
Social issues in India
Hawker (trade)
Debt bondage in India
Housing
Illegal housing in India
List of slums in India
Housing in India
Pavement dwellers
Street children in India
Utilities
Electricity sector in India
Manual scavenging
Water supply and sanitation in India
Corruption
Corruption in India
Indian black money
Other
Family planning in India
Malnutrition in India
Women in agriculture in India
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26. ^ "Inclusive Growth and Service delivery: Building on India's Success" (PDF). World Bank. 2006.
Retrieved 16 August 2017.
^ Luis Flores Ballesteros (28 September 2010). "How lack or poor infrastructure shapes inequality
and poverty in supernations. A lesson from India" 54 Pesos Sep. 2010:54 Pesos 28 Sep 2010".
54pesos.org. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
^ "AP stands 1st in India in GSDP growth rate". The Times of India. TNN. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 16
August 2017.
^ Borooah, Vani K.; Diwakar, Dilip; Mishra, Vinod Kumar; Naik, Ajaya Kumar; Sabharwal, Nidhi S.
(2014). "Caste, inequality, and poverty in India: a reassessment". Development Studies Research. 1
(1): 279–294. doi:10.1080/21665095.2014.967877.
^ Roli Mahajan (20 October 2018). "Good progress with further room for improvement". D+C,
development and cooperation. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
^ Jayati Ghosh (4 October 2011). "India's official poverty line". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16
August 2017.
^ "Households Availing Banking Services with Households in India" (PDF). Town and Country
Planning Organisation, Ministry of Urban Affairs. 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2009.[dead link]
^ "Department of Telecom, memo Feb 2013". Department of Telecommunication of India.
2013.[dead link]
^ Manas Chakravarty (13 October 2014). "The World Bank on India's poverty". Retrieved 16 August
2017.
^ "India's Urban Poverty Agenda: Understanding the Poor in Cities and Formulating Appropriate
Anti-Poverty Actions" (PDF). Goa, India. 9–21 January 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5
July 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
^ Ravallion & Datt (2002), Why has economic growth been more pro-poor in some states of India
than others?, Journal of development economics, 68(2), 381–400
^ Suman, Santosh Kumar. "Relevance of MGNREGA in India" (PDF). AEBM. Krishi Sanskriti
Publications. 3 (7): 781–783. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
^ Klonner and Oldiges, Employment Guarantee and its Welfare E§ects in India University of
Heidelberg, (September 2012)
^ Klonner and Oldiges, Safety Net for India's Poor or Waste of Public Funds? Poverty and Welfare in
the Wake of the World's Largest Job Guarantee Program University of Heidelberg, Germany (May
2014)
^ Ashwani Mahajan (12 November 2013). "Depriving the poor". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 16 August
2017.
^ "World Poverty Clock". Retrieved 17 March 2022.

27. Further reading
Breman, Jan; et al. (2019). "Chapter 6: A Mirage of Welfare: How the Social Question in India Got
Aborted". The Social Question in the Twenty-First Century: A Global View. Oakland, California:
University of California Press. doi:10.1525/luminos.74.g. ISBN 978-0520302402. S2CID 230116593.
"Poverty in India". World Bank.
"Can India eradicate poverty? Will India's economic boom help the poor?". Archived from the
original on 5 March 2016.
Deaton, A.; Kozel, V. (11 August 2005). "Data and Dogma: The Great Indian Poverty Debate" (PDF).
The World Bank Research Observer. 20 (2): 177–199. doi:10.1093/wbro/lki009. ISSN 0257-3032.
"World Hunger – India". 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009.
George, Abraham. "Why the Fight Against Poverty is Failing: A Contrarian View". Wharton Business
School Publications.
Rohr, Mathieu von (9 August 2007). "Poverty and riches in booming India". Der Spiegel.
External links
Media related to Poverty in India at Wikimedia Commons
"Poverty in India 2".
Tendulkar, Suresh. "Expert Group on Methodology for Estimation of Poverty".
"From poverty to empowerment: India's imperative for jobs, growth, and effective basic services".
McKinsey Global Institute. 2013.
Perspectives on Poverty in India (PDF). The World Bank. 2013. ISBN 978-0-8213-8689-7.
"Chapter 4: DEFINING AND EXPLAINING INCLUSIVE GROWTH AND POVERTY". INDIA (PDF).
International Monetary Fund. 2014.
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Women
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50. Prisons
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wine
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television
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51. Sculpture
tallest
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Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
By Location Africa
Algeria
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Egypt

52. Ethiopia
Kenya
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan
Armenia
Bangladesh
Cambodia
China
Cyprus
East Timor
India
Israel
Japan
Lebanon
North Korea
South Korea
Malaysia
Nepal
Pakistan
Philippines

53. Singapore
Sri Lanka
Vietnam
Yemen
Europe
Cyprus
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Germany
Greece
Italy
Moldova
Norway
Poland
Romania
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
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Australia
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The Americas
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Colombia
Cuba
Guatemala

54. Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Paraguay
Peru
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Other
Theories of poverty
Well-being
Welfare
Wellness
Quality of life
Self-perceived quality-of-life scale
Subjective well-being (SWB)
Suboptimal health
Stress
Rural access issues
Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas
Post-materialism
Pen's parade
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55. Diseases of poverty
Diseases of poverty
AIDS
Malaria
Tuberculosis
Measles
Pneumonia
Diarrheal diseases
Plague
Neglected diseases
Cholera
Chagas disease
African sleeping sickness
Schistosomiasis
Dracunculiasis
River blindness
Leishmaniasis
Trachoma
Miscellaneous
Malnutrition
Priority review voucher
See also
List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty · Deprivation and poverty indicators
show
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56. Poverty in Asia
Sovereign states
Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China
Cyprus
East Timor (Timor-Leste)
Egypt
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
North Korea
South Korea
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan

57. Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
States with
limited recognition
Abkhazia
Artsakh

58. Northern Cyprus
Palestine
South Ossetia
Taiwan
Dependencies and
other territories
British Indian Ocean Territory
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Hong Kong
Macau
Category
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