POVERTY

• The World Bank defines poverty as “the inability to attain a minimal

standard of living”. It defines poverty by saying:
• It is hunger.
• It is lack of shelter.
• It is being sick and not being able to see a doctor.
• It is not having access to school and not knowing how to read.
• It is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.
• It is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water.
• It is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom
Types of Poverty

• Absolute Poverty: It is a condition characterized by severe deprivation

of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation
facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not
only on income but also on access to social services. For example, a
family is poor if it is not able to earn food, water or even a basic kutcha
house to live.
• Relative poverty: It is a level of household income which is considerably
less than median income of the country. It is the lack of resources when
compared to other members of the society. It is a relative concept
therefore it differs across countries. For example, a family may be
considered poor if it is not able to send their children in good school
even though they have basic amenities like food, water, shelter etc.
• Situational Poverty: It is temporary in nature and occurs due to some
adverse situation like earthquakes, floods or some severe health problem.
For example, a family earns decent income of $400 per month and is able to
meet basic necessities of life. One day earthquake hits the city and destroys
their house; earning member of family loses his job. So a well off family
suddenly becomes poor overnight.
• Generational or Chronic Poverty: This type of poverty is inherited by
household. The two to three generation born into poverty and they do not
have tools to come out of this situation.
• Rural Poverty: It occurs in non-metro areas with population less than
50,000 inhabitants. Due to lesser population, the area lacks basic services
and amenities which is the cause of their financial struggle.
• Urban Poverty: It occurs in areas with population of more than 50,000
inhabitants. These families live in much stressed condition due to
overcrowding. They lack basic necessities like affordable housing.
Poverty line

• Poverty line is the level of income below which a person is not able to
meet its basic needs. It is different across countries and no two
countries can have same line. World Bank has defined $1.90 per day as
international poverty line. Some of its earlier poverty lines in the past
were:

• 1990 -> $1
• 2008 -> $1.25
• 2015 -> $1.90
Poverty Line in India

• The erstwhile planning commission and now NITI aayog is the nodal

agency for estimation of poverty line in India. It is calculated on the
basis of data collected by NSSO. Some the famous committees
appointed so far along with their recommendations are:
• Suresh Tendulkar panel’s recommendations in 2011-12, the poverty
line had been fixed at Rs 27 in rural areas and Rs 33 in urban areas.
About 22% of the population lives below this line.
• Rangarajan committee raised these limits to Rs.32 and Rs.47,
respectively, and worked out this line at close to 30%