SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Questions of 3-4 Marks Each.

line fixed?
Q.1. What is meant by poverty line ? How is poverty
Ans. Poverty line is a cut off point on the line of distribution which divides the population of the ..
e country
as poor and non-poor.
basis of enough calorie
ories intake toward
In India, poverty line is fixed at the national level the
hunger or malnutrition. The Planning Commission has
on

fixed the poverty line on the off

basis
recommended nutritional requirements of2400 calories per person per day for rural areas anof
calories per person per day for urban areas. At 2011-12 prices, rural poverty line has been
ed as
816 per month and urban poverty line 1,000 per month.
Q.2. Is poverty line a satisfactory measure of poverty in India ? Give reasons in support oa
answer.
Or
Why calorie-based norm is not adequate to identify the poor?
Ans. Poverty line is not a satisfactory measure of poverty in India due to following reasons :
() Aggregate - Poverty line groups all the poor together. It does not differentiate between thevery
poor and other poor. As a result it is very difficult to identify the poor who need assistance the
most.
(i) No consideration of other factors - Poverty line ignores many economic and social factors that
generate and are associated with poverty. Iliteracy, il health, discrimination, drinking water
etc. have been ignored.
Poverty line does not consider social factors that generate poverty.
Q.3. Explain the concept of relative poverty with the help of the population below poverty line in
some states of India.
Ans. Relative poverty refers to poverty in relation to different classes, regions or countries. The class of
people whose level of subsistence is low is treated as poor in comparison to the class of people
having high level of subsistence. It means that poverty of one is relative to the richness of the other.
In India, the concept of poverty line is used to measure poverty. Poverty line refers to that line
which expresses per capita average monthly expenditure incurred by the people to satisfy their
minimum needs. Following table shows the five states with high incidence of poverty:

States % of population below poverty line

Orissa 32.59
Bihar 32.6
Madhya Pradesh 31.65
Jharkhand 36.9
Assam 31.98
Following table shows the five states with low incidence of poverty:
States
% of population below poverty line
Jammu and Kashmir 10.35
Goa 5.09
Punjab 8.26
Himachal Pradesh 8.06
Haryana 11.16
 e the difference between relative and
Q4 Wh
absolute poverty.
Basis ofdifference Relati povrrly
Ans.
Absolute poverty
() Meaning Relative poverty
means that Absolule poverty neans that a
person, sociely or a nation is
in particular person, 4Ciety or a
poor comparison to other
nation iS s0 meare that it lves
person, society or nation.
below the minimurm subsistenre
level.
(i) Relevance It is relevant for
countries and
developed It is relevant for
developing,
not for
countries like India. developing countries like India.

(ii) Factors It considers social

factors that It does not consider social factors
generate poverty. ike illiteracy, ill health, etc. that

(iv) Method It is
are
responsible for poverty
measured by Gini's Jt is measured by poverty line.
coefficient method and Lorenz
curve.

O5 How calorie norms are fixed for

average rural person and average urban person in India for
poverty line?
Ans, First of all compositions of population in rural and urban areas is ascertained. Entire population is
categorised into sixteen categories on the basis of age, sex and activity and calories for each group is
ascertained. Now calorie requirement of a certain group is multiplied by its proportion in the
population. Adding all such products, we get the average calorie requirement of rural person and
urban person. Since more people are engaged in heavy work in the rural areas,
average requirements
for rural and urban person was fixed 2435 and 2095 calories which
respectively are
approximated
to 2400 and 2100 calories.
Q.6. Is there any relationship between unemployment and poverty ? Explain.
NCERT
Ams. Yes, there is a close relationship between unemployment and poverty. Poor people do not have
enough resources for economic purposes eg, a poor farmer cannot use the good variety of seeds
and equipments. Therefore, he and his family members may remain unemployed. Due to poverty
they are not in a position to maintain efficiency and productivity. It is not possible for the poor men
to have proper education to improve their mental ability. Poverty encourages farmers to
mortgage
their land to moneylenders, which, in long run, increases unemployment. Thus, there is direct
relationship between unemployment and poverty.
97. Write any three measures to remove the poverty.
Ans.
Following are the measures to remove the poverty:
() To Speed up the Pace of Economic Growth Economic growth creates more and more
employmnent opportunities and income for the people.
Gi) To Reduce Inequality of Income - The government should take measures to reduce inequality
of income and wealth by taxing the rich and taking welfare measures for the poor.
To Reduce Rate of Population- Efforts should be made to reduce growth rate of population.
un
Q8. Is accelerated growth a sufficient condition to ensure removal of poverty ? Explain.
Or
apid increase in economic growth surely trickles down to the people under the absolutely
poor category." Defend or refute the given statement with valid arguments. CBSE 20201
Ar e statement is not fully correct. Low rate of growth is the primary factor resulting in poverty.
h
ence, accelerated growth becomes a necessary condition to ensure removal of poverty. However,
Ccelerated growth is not a sufficient condition for removal of poverty. The removal of poverty is
 possible only when accelerated growth is accompanied by levellingg uP of income ie, fruits of
growth must flow towards poorer section of society. If the adeditional income gencrated by growth
owth
is cornered by already rich persons, the level of poverly will nol change
Q.9. Explain briefly Social Security and Public Distribution System as measures to reduce poverty,
Ans. Social Security - Social Security means a system under which financial help is provided to old ave
persons and poor households by the government. We have social security schemes for followin
wing
groups:
() Old age persons without support.
(i) Poor bereaved families on the death of primary bread winner.
(in) Women of poor households on pregnancy.
Public Distribution System (PDS) : Under Public Distribution System, fair price shops have been
set up in villages, towns and backward areas to distribute essential commodities particularly
foodgrains at cheap prices. At present, it is operating a business of ? 15,000 crore benefiting 16 crore
families. The operation involves a subsidy amounting to 7 9,000 crore.
Q.10. Write a note on Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).
Ans. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana is centrally sponsored scheme but executed by the district
administration with the involvement of Panchayati Raj representatives. It aims at
promoting
micro-enterprises and helping the rural poor into self-help groups so that poor families may
generate additional income on sustained basis. Assistance is provided in the form of subsidy and
bankeredit. More than five crore families have been given assistance. Total assistance amounted to
round 40,000 crore. Average assistance comes out to be R 7,500-8,000 per family.
Q.11. How can creation of income earning assets address the problem of poverty ?
NCERT]
Ans. The income of a person depends on various income earming assets like land, capital and skilled
labour etc. Hence, extent of poverty depends on how the income-earning assets have beern distributed
among the people. Creation of earning assets will lead to increase in domestic product and per
capita inconme. Increase in domestic product would spread to all sections of society and will trickle
down to the poor sections of society also.
Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana aims at encouraging
self-employment among the poor by providing income earning assets through a mix of loans and
subsidies.
Q.12. "Population explosion is both a cause and an effect (result) of poverty". Explain.
Ans. Population explosion is a cause of poverty because population explosion lowers per capita income.
Population explosion eats away growing income and an economy is not in a position to raise rate of
capital formation. Because of high growth rate of population, savings have been eroded and
expenditure on welfare activities has increased resulting in less capital formation.
Population explosion is an effect of poverty. High level of poverty leads to high growth rate of
population. The poor people add to the population more because children are considered as a
source of increasing the family income.
Q.13. Suppose you are from a poor family and you wish to get help from the government to set up a
petty shop. Under which scheme will you apply for assistance and why?
INCERT]
Or
Write a note on Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY).
Ans. For getting help from the government to set
up a petty shop, I shall apply for assistance under
Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana.
The objective of the PMRY is to employ millions of educated
The help given under PMRY may be used to set
youth by establishing micro-enterprises
up the self employment ventures in all economically
possible projects except direct agricultural operations. The scheme provides a loan upto 1 lakh tor
opening his own enterprise and 2 lakh for other activities at a subsidy of 15% of the project cost. T he
rate of interest differs on the loan amount as
per the guidelines provided by the government.
 me
o.14. What programm has the government adopted to
women ?
help the elderly people iand poor and destitute

INCERT
Ans.
The government has adopte National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) to help the clderly
people and poor and destitute women.It is a centrally spons
nsored scheme under the Ministry of
Rural Development. Under this
programme, elderly people who do not have anyone to take care o
them are given monthly, pensions as under
()800 to elderly poor, disabled and widows, and
(h) R 1,200 to them if they are above the age of 80,
(c)20,000 as a lumpsum assistance to the bereaved household in the event of death of the bread-
winner.
The programme currenty covers more than three crore people who are Below the Poverty Line
(BPL).
a15. Give a brief note on the Mahatma Gandhi, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005.
Q.
Ans. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) is a poverty
alleviation programme to generate wage employment for the poor unskilled people living in rural
areas. Under this Act, allthose who are willing to work at the minimum wage are offered work for
a minimum period of 100 days. Those seeking employment are to report in those rural areas where
the employment programme is being launched. In 2017-18, nearly five crore households got
employment opportunities under this programme.
Q.16. State the positive results of poverty alleviation programmes launched in India.
Ans. Following are the positive results of poverty alleviation programmes
(i) Increase in per capita income - Poverty alleviation programmes have been successful in

raising per capita income of the people below the poverty line.
(i) Fall in percentage of poor - The implementation of poverty alleviation has resulted in fall in

percentage of absolute poor in some states.

(iii) Rise in Wages - Poverty alleviation programmes has resulted in rise in wages particularly in

rural areas.
(iv) Rise in Nutritional Level - Poverty alleviation programmes include provision of good quality
food grains and other eatables at subsidised prices. This has resulted in nutritional level of the
people below poverty line.
Q.17. Give your suggestions to make poverty alleviation programmes successful in reducing poverty.
Ans. Following are the suggestions to make poverty alleviation programmes effective :
(9 Better Targetting Poverty alleviation programmes should benefit the needy poor people.
Benefits of these programmes should not be appropriated by non-poor
(i) Sufficient Resources Compared to the magnitude of poverty, the amount of resources
allocated for these programmes should be increased.
(in) Efficient use of Resources - Officials responsible for implementing these programmes should
be adequately trained and motivated so that resources are efficiently used and not wasted.
(io) Implementation - Oficials should act without any pressure from a variety of local elites. There
should be participation of local level institutions in the implementation of these programmes.
18. "It is not possible to eradicate poverty completely." Do you agree [CBSE 2019]
Ans. We donot agree that it is not possible to eradicate poverty completely. In the world as a whole there
are plenty of resources to produce food but still there is hunger. Poverty in the present day world is
more of a question of ill-distribution. It is possible to eradicate poverty completely by complete
redistribution of existing resources and incomes.
 LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

Questions of 6 Marks Each.

Q.1. State major economic causes of poverty in India.

Ans. Following are the major economic causes of poverty in India
() Population explosion - Increasing population means increasing demand for consumer goods
A large part of the country's wealth is spent on the population and there is hardly any resources
available for developmental activities. Higher population results in lower per capita income.

(i) Low level of Development Indian economy is underdeveloped due to lack of capital
of natural resources. As a result, nearly 25%, of
technique of production and underutilisation
population is living below the poverty line.
(iii) Inequality of Income - The unequal distribution of income and assets has led to continuance of
poverty because fruits of development have not reached to lower income groups.
(v) Inflation Inflation is a situation of steep and continuous rise in prices particularly of food
grains. Inflation decreases the purchasing power of low-income people and has added to the

miseries of the poor.

() Low Education - Poor people are illiterate or semi-educated, and, therefore, they get only low
paid jobs. Unskilled people can do only low paid jobs. Iliterate farmers are not capable of using

modern techniques of farming

(vi) Social Factors - Indian society is in grip of various social customs and traditions such as caste
system, joint family system, religious beliefs etc. These social factors have hindered the process
of economic growth.
Q.2. Explain the various steps taken by the govemment for poverty alleviation.
Or
Briefly explain the three dimensional attack on poverty adopted by the government. [NCERT]
Ans. Following are the three dimensions of government's approach to poverty alleviation:
(1) Growth Oriented Approach - Speeding up the pace of growth is a permanent solution to the

problem of poverty in India. Economic growth creates more and more employment opportunities
and income for the people. As a result, there will be less poverty.
(2) Poverty Alleviation Programmes - The government has specifically designed anti-poverty

programmes. These programmes are of two types:

(i) Self-employment programmes which include
(a) Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana
(b) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana
(c) Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana
(d) Rural Employment Generation Programme.
(i) Wage employment programme which include
(a) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. (MGNREGA)
(b) Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana
(ii) Providing Minimum Basic Amenities - This approach was followed from the Fifth Five
Year Plan. It putsemphasis on the following:
(a) Provision of foodgrains at subsidised rates.
(b) Provision of education, health, water supply and sanitation at subsidised rates and at
aceconvenient to the poor people.
(c) Creating employment opportunities for the poor.
O.3. State the flaws in anti-poverty programmes initiated by the Government of India.
 Or
The three dimensional attack on poverty adopted by the government has not succeeded in
erty alleviation
in India. Comment."
pov
INCERT
Or
he DoVerty alleviation programmes havenot been successful in India." Give reasons.
The Doverty alleviation programmes have not been successful in India due to following reasons :
Ans.
nWrong Targetirng - The assistance provided under these programmes have not been given to

persons who were really poor. Definition of "poor" was not clear and many non-poor took
advantage of the programmes. Anti-poverty programmes ignored the very
in Insufficient- Fnancial limits of investment in the schemes are centrally fixed poor.
without reference
to actual costs. Amount actually transferred to the
beneficiary bears no relation to the investment
requirement of beneficiary. The assistance provided under these programmes was too small for
a meaningful income generation.
(ii) Improper Implementation The concerned staff and administration were
-

inefficient, corrupt
and not trained for the work assigned to them. The implementation was not monitored. Non-
participation of local level institutions resulted in improper implementation of the programmes.
(i) Lack of Overall Development The strategy of
providing assistance under these programmes
-

was not linked with the overall

development strategy. Assistance got eaten into consumption
activities. There was lack of infrastructural facilities like road, schools,
etc. to support development activities.
power, training institutions
04. Critically examine the results of Poverty Alleviation Programmes implemented in India since
Independence. CBSE 2020]
See Question Number 16 of Short Answer Questions.
However, poverty alleviation programmes have failed to deliver desired results due to following
reasons
See Question Number 3 of Long Answer Questions.
Q.5. Suggest your measures to reduce poverty in India.
Ans. Following are the measures to reduce
poverty in India:
(i) GDP Growth - The ultimate strategy to reduce poverty is fast economic growth resulting in
GDP growth. GDP growth implies larger production of goods and services resulting in generation
ofnew opportunities of employment in farms and factories and higher incomes to people. This
will automatically reduce the poverty.
) Fiscal Policy Measures GDP growth should be accompanied by fiscal measures to reduce
inequality of income and assets. The government should adopt the policy of progressive
taxation and higher taxes on luxuries. Tax receipts of the government should be used to offer
subsidies on the items consumed by the poor. Such as food grains, coarse cloth etc.
in) Population Control - Poverty can be removed only if growth rate of population is checked.
This will increase per capita GDP. For this purpose family planning campaign should be
intensified.
(10) Poverty Alleviation Programmes Poverty alleviation programmes should be implemented
effectively by reducing waste and corruption ensuring greater coordination and avoiding
duplication of programmes. Poverty alleviation programmes should have special focus on
backward regions and rural areas such as Odisha, Nagaland, Bihar etc. Poverty alleviation
programmes should offer self-employment opportunities.
9.6. Ilustrate the difference between rural and urban poverty. Is it correct to say that poverty has
shifted from rural to urban areas ? Use the trends in poverty ratio in support of your answer.

NCERT]
ns. The difference between rural and urban poverty is related to the type of poor persons in these areas.
In the rural areas, poor persons include landless agricultural workers, marginal farmers, village
artisans and casual workers. In the urban areas, poor persons include vendors, rickshaw pullers,
ers,
domestic maids, beggars, construction site workers.
 from rural to urban areas. Kura poor migrate to 1urban
It is correct tosay that poverty has shifted
areas in search of emplovment and better life.
In 1973-74 more than 8U% of the poor people resid ded
in 2011-12. However, the absolute numher
in rural areas and this situation has not changed even
of
n urban areas increasod
the number of their counterparts
poor in rural areas had declined whereas ed.
shifted from rural to urban
The trends in in India indicate that poverty has
poverty
areas.

few measures to tackle the problem of povertr

Q.7. Suppose you are a resident of a village, suggest a rty.
Ans. As a resident of a village, I shall suggest the following measures to tackle the problem of poverty.
[NCERT
) Wages - There are a large number of agricultural labourers in villages. These labourers should
be paid wages according to the rates mentioned in minimum wages act. Minimum wages
than the wage rates prevailino
prescribed by Minimum Wages Act are generally higher
otherwise.
(i) Development of Agriculture To remove poverty, special efforts should be made to develop
agriculture by providing better seeds, means of irrigation, fertilisers and machines at subsidised
rates. Further, small farmers should be given credit at lower rate of interest. Landless farmers
should be given land or employment under poverty alleviation programmes.
(ii') Cottage Industries Cottage and small scale industries adopt labour-intensive technique of
production. Therefore, these industries should be encouraged particularly in rural areas.
(iv) Public Distribution System - An effective Public Distribution System must be in place for the

supply of food grains and other essentials of life to the people in the rural areas. Food grains
and coarse cloth must be provided at subsidised rates through fair price shops.
() Awareness People should be made aware of self-employment and wage employment
programmes run by the government. People should be aware of modern technological practices
in agriculture.
People should be made aware of family planning methods to control the growth of population.
(i) of
Infrastructure Tihe government should take up immediate steps to develop
Development
economic infrastructure as well as social infrastructure. This will enhance the ability to work
i.c., efficiency and productivity which will help in removing the poverty.