(i) Human poverty: The official definition of poverty is about a "minimum" subsistence level of living rather, than a "reasonable" level of living. Many scholars advocate that we must broaden the concept into human poverty which includes not only minimum subsistence level of living but also educatioRead more
(i) Human poverty: The official definition of poverty is about a “minimum” subsistence level of living rather, than a “reasonable” level of living. Many scholars advocate that we must broaden the concept into human poverty which includes not only minimum subsistence level of living but also education, shelter, health care, job security, self-confidence, caste and gender equality. With development, the definition of what constitutes poverty also changes.
(ii) Poorest of the poor: In poor families all suffer, but some suffer more than others. Women, elderly people and female infants are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family. Therefore, women, children (especially the girl child) and old people are the poorest of the poor.
(iii) Main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 20O5: The
main features of the Act are as follows :
(a) Provision for 100 days of assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts. Later, the scheme will be extended to 600 districts.
(b) One-third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for women’
(c) Establishment of National Employment Guarantee Funds by the Central Government.
(d) Establishment of State Employment Guarantee Funds by state governments for implementation of the scheme.
(e) Under the programme if an applicant is not provided employment within fifteen days, she/he will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.
The current government strategy of poverty alleviation is based broadly on two planks: (i) Promotion of economic growth: The government tried to promote the economic growth which has been one of the fastest in the world since the eighties. The growth rate jumped from the average of about 3.5 per cenRead more
The current government strategy of poverty alleviation is based broadly on two planks:
(i) Promotion of economic growth: The government tried to promote the economic growth which has been one of the fastest in the world since the eighties. The growth rate jumped from the average of about 3.5 per cent a year in the 1970s to about 6 per cent during the 1980s and 1990s’ This helped significantly in the reduction of poverty. There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction. Economic growth, widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human development.
(ii) Poverty alleviation programmes: The above strategy of economic growth is not fully successful’ The poor may not be able to take direct advantage from the opportunities created by economic growth. Moreover, growth in the agriculture sector is much below expectations’ This has- a direct bearing on poverty as a large number of poor people live in villages and are dependent on agriculture. The government thinks that the poor people have to be looked after directly if poverty is to be alleviated. The government has, therefore, adopted various anti-poverty programmes which are as given below:
(a) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), 2005
(b) National Food for Work programme (NFWP), 2004
(c) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yozana (PMGY), 2000
(d) Antyodaya Anna Yozana (AAY), 2000
(e) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), 1999
(f) Rural Employment Generation programme (REGP), 1995
(g) Prime Minister Rozgar yozana (PMRY), 1993.
(l) Developing countries: The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty has fallen from 28 per cent in 1990 to 21 per cent in 2001. (ii) Regional differences: There are, however great regional differences. (a) Poverty declined substantially in China and SoutheasRead more
(l) Developing countries: The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty has fallen from 28 per cent in 1990 to 21 per cent in 2001.
(ii) Regional differences: There are, however great regional differences.
(a) Poverty declined substantially in China and Southeast Asian countries.
(b) Number of poor in China has come down from 606 million in 1981 to 212 million in 2001.
(c) In the countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan) the decline has not been as rapid.
(d) Despite decline in the percentage of the poor, the number of poor has declined marginally from 475 million in 1981 to 428 million in 2001.
(iii) Sub-Saharan Africa: Poverty has risen from 41 per cent in 1gg1 to 46 per cent in 2001.
(iv) Latin America: The ratio of poverty remained the same.
(v) Socialist countries: Poverty has resurfaced in some of the form, socialist countries like Russia, where officially it was non-existent earlier. It may be mentioned here that the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations calls for reducing the proportion of people living on less than $ 1 a day to half the 1990 level by 2015.
The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state. Although state level poverty has witnessed a secular decline from the levels of early seventies, the success rate of reducing poverty varies from state to state. The interstate disparities are as follows: (i) In 20 states and union territRead more
The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state. Although state level
poverty has witnessed a secular decline from the levels of early seventies, the success rate of
reducing poverty varies from state to state. The interstate disparities are as follows:
(i) In 20 states and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average.
(ii) The poverty is still a serious problem in Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
(iii) Orissa and Bihar continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 47 and 43 per cent, respectively.
(iv) Along with rural poverty” urban poverty is also high in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
(v) There has been a significant decline in poverty in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir,
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal.
The reasons for this decline are as mentioned below:
(a) Punjab and Haryana have succeeded in reducing poverty with the help of high
agricultural growth rates.
(b) Kerala has focused on human resource development.
(c) In west Bengal, poverty has been reduced by land reform measures
(d) In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, public distribution of food grains has helped in the improvement of situation.
The main reasons for poverty in India are follows: (i) Low level of economic development under the British colonial administration: The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts. It discouraged development of industries like textiles. The low rate of growth persisted until tRead more
The main reasons for poverty in India are follows:
(i) Low level of economic development under the British colonial administration: The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts. It discouraged development of industries like textiles. The low rate of growth persisted until the nineteen- eighties. This resulted in less job opportunities and low growth rate of incomes
(ii) High growth rate of population : The growth in population neutralises the increase in job opportunity. The failure at both- the fronts – promotion of economic growth and population control perpetuated the cycle of poverty.
(iii) The Green Revolution and industrial development in public and private sector provided job opportunities to some people but as many people could not get a proper job, they started working as rickshaw-pullers, vendors and domestic servants. These people could not earn much and started living in the slums and it led to increase in poverty in urban areas.
(iv) Unequal distribution of land and other resources also led to increase in poverty in rural areas particularly because the land reforms were not implemented properly.
(v) People spend too much money on religious ceremonies. They even take loans from the moneylenders for such expenditure that leads more poverty.
(vi) Small farmers take loans from moneylenders to busy seeds and fertilisers. Since poor people hardly have any savings they are unable to repay which leads to high level of indebtedness and poverty.
(vii) some other causes of poverty are excessive dependency on agriculture, social factors such as illiteracy, large size of family, law of and inheritance and caste system.
Answer the following questions briefly: (i) What do you understand by human poverty? (ii) Who are the Poorest of the Poor? (iii) What are the main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,2O05?
(i) Human poverty: The official definition of poverty is about a "minimum" subsistence level of living rather, than a "reasonable" level of living. Many scholars advocate that we must broaden the concept into human poverty which includes not only minimum subsistence level of living but also educatioRead more
(i) Human poverty: The official definition of poverty is about a “minimum” subsistence level of living rather, than a “reasonable” level of living. Many scholars advocate that we must broaden the concept into human poverty which includes not only minimum subsistence level of living but also education, shelter, health care, job security, self-confidence, caste and gender equality. With development, the definition of what constitutes poverty also changes.
See less(ii) Poorest of the poor: In poor families all suffer, but some suffer more than others. Women, elderly people and female infants are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family. Therefore, women, children (especially the girl child) and old people are the poorest of the poor.
(iii) Main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 20O5: The
main features of the Act are as follows :
(a) Provision for 100 days of assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts. Later, the scheme will be extended to 600 districts.
(b) One-third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for women’
(c) Establishment of National Employment Guarantee Funds by the Central Government.
(d) Establishment of State Employment Guarantee Funds by state governments for implementation of the scheme.
(e) Under the programme if an applicant is not provided employment within fifteen days, she/he will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.
Describe current government strategy of poverty alleviation.
The current government strategy of poverty alleviation is based broadly on two planks: (i) Promotion of economic growth: The government tried to promote the economic growth which has been one of the fastest in the world since the eighties. The growth rate jumped from the average of about 3.5 per cenRead more
The current government strategy of poverty alleviation is based broadly on two planks:
See less(i) Promotion of economic growth: The government tried to promote the economic growth which has been one of the fastest in the world since the eighties. The growth rate jumped from the average of about 3.5 per cent a year in the 1970s to about 6 per cent during the 1980s and 1990s’ This helped significantly in the reduction of poverty. There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction. Economic growth, widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human development.
(ii) Poverty alleviation programmes: The above strategy of economic growth is not fully successful’ The poor may not be able to take direct advantage from the opportunities created by economic growth. Moreover, growth in the agriculture sector is much below expectations’ This has- a direct bearing on poverty as a large number of poor people live in villages and are dependent on agriculture. The government thinks that the poor people have to be looked after directly if poverty is to be alleviated. The government has, therefore, adopted various anti-poverty programmes which are as given below:
(a) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), 2005
(b) National Food for Work programme (NFWP), 2004
(c) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yozana (PMGY), 2000
(d) Antyodaya Anna Yozana (AAY), 2000
(e) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), 1999
(f) Rural Employment Generation programme (REGP), 1995
(g) Prime Minister Rozgar yozana (PMRY), 1993.
Describe global poverty trends.
(l) Developing countries: The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty has fallen from 28 per cent in 1990 to 21 per cent in 2001. (ii) Regional differences: There are, however great regional differences. (a) Poverty declined substantially in China and SoutheasRead more
(l) Developing countries: The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty has fallen from 28 per cent in 1990 to 21 per cent in 2001.
See less(ii) Regional differences: There are, however great regional differences.
(a) Poverty declined substantially in China and Southeast Asian countries.
(b) Number of poor in China has come down from 606 million in 1981 to 212 million in 2001.
(c) In the countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan) the decline has not been as rapid.
(d) Despite decline in the percentage of the poor, the number of poor has declined marginally from 475 million in 1981 to 428 million in 2001.
(iii) Sub-Saharan Africa: Poverty has risen from 41 per cent in 1gg1 to 46 per cent in 2001.
(iv) Latin America: The ratio of poverty remained the same.
(v) Socialist countries: Poverty has resurfaced in some of the form, socialist countries like Russia, where officially it was non-existent earlier. It may be mentioned here that the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations calls for reducing the proportion of people living on less than $ 1 a day to half the 1990 level by 2015.
Give an account of interstate disparities in poverty in India.
The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state. Although state level poverty has witnessed a secular decline from the levels of early seventies, the success rate of reducing poverty varies from state to state. The interstate disparities are as follows: (i) In 20 states and union territRead more
The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state. Although state level
See lesspoverty has witnessed a secular decline from the levels of early seventies, the success rate of
reducing poverty varies from state to state. The interstate disparities are as follows:
(i) In 20 states and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average.
(ii) The poverty is still a serious problem in Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
(iii) Orissa and Bihar continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 47 and 43 per cent, respectively.
(iv) Along with rural poverty” urban poverty is also high in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
(v) There has been a significant decline in poverty in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir,
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal.
The reasons for this decline are as mentioned below:
(a) Punjab and Haryana have succeeded in reducing poverty with the help of high
agricultural growth rates.
(b) Kerala has focused on human resource development.
(c) In west Bengal, poverty has been reduced by land reform measures
(d) In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, public distribution of food grains has helped in the improvement of situation.
Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.
The main reasons for poverty in India are follows: (i) Low level of economic development under the British colonial administration: The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts. It discouraged development of industries like textiles. The low rate of growth persisted until tRead more
The main reasons for poverty in India are follows:
See less(i) Low level of economic development under the British colonial administration: The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts. It discouraged development of industries like textiles. The low rate of growth persisted until the nineteen- eighties. This resulted in less job opportunities and low growth rate of incomes
(ii) High growth rate of population : The growth in population neutralises the increase in job opportunity. The failure at both- the fronts – promotion of economic growth and population control perpetuated the cycle of poverty.
(iii) The Green Revolution and industrial development in public and private sector provided job opportunities to some people but as many people could not get a proper job, they started working as rickshaw-pullers, vendors and domestic servants. These people could not earn much and started living in the slums and it led to increase in poverty in urban areas.
(iv) Unequal distribution of land and other resources also led to increase in poverty in rural areas particularly because the land reforms were not implemented properly.
(v) People spend too much money on religious ceremonies. They even take loans from the moneylenders for such expenditure that leads more poverty.
(vi) Small farmers take loans from moneylenders to busy seeds and fertilisers. Since poor people hardly have any savings they are unable to repay which leads to high level of indebtedness and poverty.
(vii) some other causes of poverty are excessive dependency on agriculture, social factors such as illiteracy, large size of family, law of and inheritance and caste system.