2. Poverty: Not exactly a state of mind
If not, then what exactly is it?
Poverty is a state of not having enough money at hand to meet
basic amenities like food, shelter, clothing and education.
Results of Poverty on an Individual
Poor or no housing facility in sustainable hygienic conditions
Malnutrition
Illiteracy
Poor medical facilities at disposal
Unavailability of drinking water and sanitation
Unemployment or job with unsustainable income
No representation in society/government
3. Where do we stand today ?
The World Bank defines poverty as survival on less than $1.25 per day,
according to which, as of 2010, 33% i.e. 400 million Indians were below this line
The 2011 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report places India amongst the three
countries where the GHI between 1996 and 2011 went up from 22.9 to 23.7,
while all the other developing nations which were studied were able to bring
the number down.
Facts related to poverty
10.8 million people were unemployed (as of Jan 2012)
According to a 2005 report, 42% of India’s children below the age of
three were malnourished
Approximately 1.72 million children die each year before turning one.
Even at a $5 a day poverty line 96 percent of Indians are poor
53 million of those who have escaped poverty recently are vulnerable
to falling back below the line again
4. Primary Reasons for Poverty
Uncontrolled Population : With the
population growing faster than the
increase in availability of resources, the
population without the basic amenities
has increased tremendously. Today 78
million Indians are homeless
Unemployment : Because of the
ineffective government policies
(NREGA, PGY, Annapurna etc)
corruption at various levels and slow
industrial(manufacturing sector) growth
coupled with poor infrastructure, the
number of unemployed Indians has
crossed 10 million. The current market
regulations are not favorable for
industries.
Illiteracy : Post independence this
has been one of the major problems
the government has tried to
overcome. Even though we have
reached the 81% mark, high drop out
rates and poor quality of education in
Government schools continue to
affect the literacy rate in India. Lack
of education leads to lesser
employment opportunities
Poor Agricultural Growth: The
failure of the government to provide
adequate infrastructure facilities for
irrigation and farming equipments and
lack of financing options for poor
farmers has deteriorated the condition
of the farmers. Low MSPs, brokers in
market and poor monsoons have only
added to their misery
5. Inefficiency of Government Policies
Though the government has brought out a number of policies for
reducing poverty by providing employment for unskilled labor and
providing subsidized food for those under the poverty line, most of these
have not been successful
Failure of the Public Distribution System to be able to support the poor
Improper procurement and unsystematic distribution has led to more
crops being wasted than those being given to the poor at subsidized rates
Poor Storage facilities and mismanagement of resources have added to
the miseries of the farmers
Corruption at different levels have not allowed the poor to benefit from
the policies
Biased Policies and their failure have led to non-inclusive growth
High inflation and lesser employment generation have aggravated the
problem
6. The Poverty Map
Poverty Line:
Urban : Rs 30
Rural : Rs 27
Some Observations:
The states of Orissa,
Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh and
Uttarakhand contribute
to 2/3rd of the Indian
poor population
These are also the
states with high
population density and
low contribution to GDP
of India
7. Poverty
Rural
Urban
27% of the Indian population lives in
rural areas and below the poverty
line
Primary Causes:
Poor agricultural yield
Debt from landlords
Seasonal crops and no other jobs
Caste/gender based oppression
Failed monsoons/ infected crops
Large family size
IMPACT
24% of the people in urban cities
and metropolitans fall below the
poverty line of Rs 32/ day
Primary Causes:
Unemployment
Low wages and high inflation
Illiteracy
Low benefits from Govt. policies
Corruption (in form or the other)
Large family size
Illiteracy and high dropout rate
Child Labor and human trafficking
Drug Addiction and Malnutrition
Civil Unrest, Increased Crime Rate and Suicide
Dwelling of Slums and Poor health conditions
8. Poverty Alleviation : Ideas and Solutions
Agricultural Revolution :
Better infrastructure for irrigation in villages to allow them to achieve good
yields even in cases of poor monsoons
Connecting farmers directly to the market through e-kisan and mobile
technology
Better MSPs and removing brokers from the food procurement process
Support centers for farmers to assist them in crop cultivation and fertilizer
options
Better banking and micro-financing facilities for rural farmers to provide easy
loans
Promote sustainable and nature friendly ways of crop cultivation and
fertilization
Promoting self help groups within villages to fight against poverty in a
cooperative manner
Promote NGOs like “Kheti Virasat Mission” etc. to help farmers with organic
methods of improving yield
Secondary sources of income like animal cattle and vocational courses for
farmers with seasonal crops should be encouraged
Improving the Public Distribution System and removing corruption from policies
9. Poverty Alleviation : Ideas and Solutions
Education
It is the only weak link in the vicious circle of poverty and
unemployment.
The government has made efforts to provide cheap education to the
poor through its schools and also tried to reduce the drop out rate by
introducing the Mid-day meal scheme
However, the quality of education needs to be checked in these schools
and better teachers and quality curriculum
Vocational Centers should collaborate with the schools, so as to
ensure that those just out of the school should be able to earn a living
for themselves
Comprehensive vocational activities and computer courses should be
promoted to keep up with the technological advancements
NGOs working in this field need to be promoted and encouraged
Flexible financing schemes to promote higher education
Evening education centers and “Aangan vaadis” for the adults and
women should be opened in villages to promote learning atmosphere
10. Poverty Alleviation : Ideas and Solutions
Employment :
It is surely one of the best ways to help people get rid of the menace of poverty
Government schemes like NREGA, PMGY etc have made an unsatisfactory effort
to provide employment to poor in villages
The jobs for unskilled labor have been limited due to cases of corrupt practices in
infrastructure projects leading to stalling of projects and failure of schemes
Vocational Courses presently taught are outdated and not good enough to help
poor earn a living
The manufacturing sector needs to be revived to help the semi-skilled labor and
more service & outsourcing sector jobs should be promoted for skilled labor
Enforcing strict labor laws in both organized and unorganized sector
Other Measures :
Better health infrastructure through efficient and cheap government funded
hospitals, medical clinics and enforcing compulsory public service for doctors
Cheap shelter for poor in winters and quality public washrooms to preserve
hygiene
Stop Child labor and ensure compulsory education
Rehab centers for drug addicts and vocational opportunities for the same
11. CONCLUSION
With the Food Security Bill passed in the
Parliament, there is some interim relief for
the poor, even though this is seen as a
election gimmick. In the long run only
education and employment generation
are the only ways to check the increasing
poverty and economic divide. The poverty
line has been a debatable issue with
decisions being taken without recent data
to support it. Good governance and
corruption free policies are things one can
only hope for. All a common man can d is
raise voice against the injustices done to
poor and encourage inclusive
development.
