Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual or community lacks the financial resources and necessities for a basic standard of living. Each country may have its own set of criteria for determining how many of its citizens are poor. When an individual or community lacks the financial resources and necessities for a basic standard of living
There are two main methods used to assess poverty in statistics and economics:
- Income is compared to the amount required to cover basic personal requirements such as food, clothes, and shelter under absolute poverty metrics.
- Relative poverty is defined as a person’s inability to meet a minimum standard of living in comparison to others at the same time and place.
Global Poverty Scenario
Global Poverty Scenario
- The number of people worldwide who live on less than $1.90 a day is defined as Global poverty. It has fallen down from 36 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in 2015.
- According to the World Bank, the ratio or percentage of the population living below the poverty line in developing countries has come down from 28% in 1990 to 21% in 2001.
- Poverty has declined substantially in most regions of the world like China, East Asia, and Pacific, South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The ratio of Poverty in China, East Asia, and the Pacific regions have declined more rapidly than in South Asia. numbers of poor in china has fallen down from 88.3 percent in 1981 to 14.7 percent in 2008 to 0.7 percent in 2015.
- The substantial decline in the ratio of poverty in China, East Asia, and the Pacific is associated with rapid economic growth and high investments in human resource development in these regions.
- In South Asia also the decline has been rapid from 54 percent to 15 percent and not only decline the percentage of poor but also decline in the number of poor from 44 percent in 1990 to 17 percent in 2013.
- The situation is vice versa in Sub-Saharan Africa as in other regions poverty is declined but here the poverty ratio has actually risen from 41% in 1981 to 46% in 2001. or you can say Poverty has reappeared in some former socialist countries like Russia, earlier there was no poverty.
According to World Bank –
- The poverty rate in India appears to be higher than our national estimate of 26%.
- At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2002, leaders from 189 countries signed a declaration pledging to reduce the number of people living on less than $1 per day to half of what it was in 1990 by 2015.
Anti-Poverty Measures
One of the main goals of India’s development plan has been to eliminate poverty. The government’s current anti-poverty plan is centered on the following two goals:
Economic Growth Promotion
Over the previous few years, the government has fostered economic growth. Economic development was sluggish until the 1980s, but it has subsequently accelerated, resulting in considerable poverty reduction. High economic development contributes to great poverty alleviation. Economic growth and poverty eradication are inextricably linked.
The economic expansion opens up new possibilities and offers the funds needed to invest in human development. People are encouraged to send their children to school (particularly the female kid) because they believe that investment in education will yield higher economic benefits. The impoverished, on the other hand, may not be able to directly benefit from economic expansion. A substantial number of individuals in rural regions remain impoverished due to a lack of expansion in the agricultural industry.
Focused Anti-Poverty Programs
Beginning in 1990, the government implemented targeted anti-poverty programs. Due to a lack of adequate implementation and targeting, the results of these programs have been uneven. In addition, some schemes overlap with others.
As a result, the benefits of these programs do not reach all of the deserving poor. Also, the government is now placing a greater focus on effective monitoring of all of these programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many districts are covered by NREGA? What is the unemployment allowance under NREGA?
Under NREGA, if the person is not provided employment within 15 days, then the person will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance. Initially, NREGA covered 200 districts.
What is the reason for the high calories requirement in rural areas?
The requirement of high calories in rural areas because of the high involvement of rural people in more physical work. People of rural areas have more opportunities than the urban area means more labor work.
What is the motive of Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana?
The main motive was to increase the employment ratio or opportunities for the educated unemployed youth of rural areas and small towns.
What are the National Food for Work Programme’s objectives for rural areas?
The main objective of the National Food for Work Programme is,
- This program is who are in need of wage employment and has desired to do manual unskilled work and open for all the poor of rural area,
- This program has been implemented with a 100 percent centrally sponsored scheme and foodgrains are provided free of cost to the states.
What is human poverty?
It is broader concept of poverty as it includes non – availability of other necessities of life like education, shelter, healthcare, job etc along with food. If a person is not capable of providing education to their children and can not provide basic health facilities then it is considered as human poverty.