Grade 9

ECONOMICS- CHAPTER 3

POVERTY AS A CHALLENGE
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1. Discuss the indicators to judge poverty by social scientists.

i) The levels of income and consumption
ii) Illiteracy level
iii)Lack of job opportunities
iv) Lack of access to healthcare
v) Lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation
vi) Lack of general resistance due to malnutrition

2. Define the poverty line. How is the poverty line determined?

● Poverty line is an imaginary line that is considered appropriate for a
country’s existing level of development and its accepted minimum social
norms.
● It is a common method used to measure poverty based on the income or
consumption level.
● While determining the poverty line in India, a minimum level of food
requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical
requirement etc. are determined for subsistence.

3. Explain any five causes of poverty in India.

1. Low level of economic development under the British:

i) The colonial policies ruined the traditional handicrafts and discouraged
industrial development. Eg. textiles
ii) This resulted in less job opportunities and low growth rate of income.
2. Growth rate of population:
i) The country failed to control the rate of population growth.
ii) Low growth rate of income and high population made the growth rate of
per capita income very low.
3. Huge income inequalities:
i) Reason for this - a) Unequal distribution of land b) unequal distribution of
other resources.
ii) Redistribution of assets were not implemented properly.
4. High level of indebtedness:
i) Poor people had no savings.
ii) Small farmers borrowed money to buy seeds, fertilizers,pesticides etc.
iii) They were unable to repay. Thus they became victims of
 indebtedness.
5. Socio- cultural factor:
i) People in India, including the poor, spend a lot of money to fulfil social
obligations and observe religious ceremonies giving way to borrow money
from outside. Gradually they became the victims of indebtedness.

4. Write a note on any five programmes that have been developed for the
eradication of poverty in India.
OR
What are the schemes under targeted anti-poverty measures?

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural employment Guarantee Act, 2005

Aim- 100 days of assured employment to every rural household in 200
districts.
2. Prime Minister Rozgar Yozana ( PMRY), 1993
Aim- Create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth
in rural areas and small towns.
3. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP), 1995
Aim- create self -employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns.
Target for creating 25 lakh new jobs under the 10th Five Year Plan. 4.
Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana(SGSY), 1999
Aim- To bring poor families APL by organising them into self help groups
using bank credit and government subsidy.
5. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yozana (PMGY), 2000
Aim- Central assistance is given to states for basic services such as
a) primary health
b) Primary education
c) rural shelter
d) rural drinking water
e) rural electrification

5. “Poverty reduction is expected to make better progress in the next ten to

fifteen years.” How is this possible?
This would be possible only if the government targets the following:
i) Higher economic growth
ii) Increasing stress on universal free elementary education
iii) Decrease in population growth
iv) Increasing empowerment of the women and the economically
weaker sections of the society.

Additional Questions
 1. Define poverty ratio. Pg. 32
2. Give a brief sketch on India’s economic growth after 1980. Pg. 38
3. What is meant by human poverty? Pg. 40
4. “ Eradication of poverty is always a moving target.” But the target will
move on for many of the bigger challenges that still remain. Can you
list out some of them. Pg. 40
5. “Analysis of poverty based on social exclusion and vulnerability is now
becoming very common.” Explain. Pg. 31