Chapter 3: Poverty as a Challenge CBSE Class 9 Economics Notes

➥In our daily life, we see poverty all around us. It affects landless laborers in villages, people living in overcrowded slums in cities, daily wage workers, and even child workers in dhabas. According to statistics, in India, every fourth person is poor.

Two Typical Cases of Poverty

➥ Landlessness, Unemployment, Size of families, Illiteracy, Poor health/malnutrition, Child labour, Helplessness.

⟹ Poverty is :
● Hunger and lack of shelter
● Lack of clean water and sanitation facilities
● Lack of a regular job
● Living with a sense of helplessness.

➥ Mahatma Gandhi always insisted that India would be truly independent only when the poorest of its people become free of human suffering.

Poverty as Seen by Social Scientists

➥Social scientists look it through various indicators like:

1. Level of income and consumption.
2. Social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation etc.
3. Analysis of poverty based on social exclusion and vulnerability is now becoming very common.

Poverty Line

⟹ The poverty line is used to measure the minimum income or consumption levels required for a person to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials.

⟹ The poverty line may vary with time and place, depending on the required living standards in a region.

Estimation of Poverty Line in India

➥ A minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirement, etc. are determined for subsistence.

➥ Present formula for food requirement while estimating the poverty line is based on the desired Calorie requirement.

• Rural areas: 2400 calories/day.
• Urban areas: 2100 calories/day.

➥ The monetary expenditure per capita needed for buying these calorie requirement are [2011-12]:

• Rural: ₹816/month.
• Urban: ₹1000/month.

➥ Family Poverty Line

1. A family of five members living in rural areas, earning less than Rs 4,080 per month, will be below the poverty line.
2. A similar family in urban areas would need a minimum of Rs 5,000 per month to meet basic requirements.

➥ The poverty line is estimated periodically (usually every five years) by conducting sample surveys conducted by the NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation).

➥ The World Bank uses a uniform standard for the poverty line, which is $1.90 per person per day (as per international standards).

Poverty Estimates

➥ Decline in Poverty Ratios in India:

1. There has been a substantial decline in poverty ratios in India, from about 45% in 1993-94 to 37.2% in 2004–05 (i.e., 1993-94: 45%).
2. If the current trend continues, the percentage of people living below the poverty line may decrease to less than 20% in the next few years.
3. The number of poor people declined from 407 million in 2004–05 to 270 million in 2011–12, with an average annual decline of 2.2%.

Vulnerable Groups

Social groups: Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Economic groups: Rural agricultural laborers and urban casual workers.

Poverty reduction observed among SCs and rural laborers but remains high among STs.

Inter-State Disparities

➥ Poverty varies across states:

• High poverty states: Bihar (33.7%), Odisha (32.6%).
• Urban poverty: Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh.
• Low poverty states: Kerala, Punjab, Haryana.

Factors reducing poverty:

• Land reforms (West Bengal).
• Human resource development (Kerala).
• Public food distribution (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh).

Global Poverty Scenario

Trends:

• China & Southeast Asia: Rapid poverty decline due to economic growth and investment in human resources.
• Sub-Saharan Africa: Poverty reduced from 51% (2005) to 41% (2015).
• Latin America: Poverty reduced from 10% (2005) to 4% (2015).

Causes of Poverty

➥Historical factors:

• Colonial exploitation ruined traditional industries and agriculture.
• Low economic growth combined with population growth.

Income inequalities: Unequal land/resource distribution.

Rural indebtedness: Farmers borrow for inputs but struggle to repay loans.

Anti-Poverty Measures

➯The current anti-poverty strategy of the government is based broadly on two planks.

1. Promotion of economic growth.
2. Targeted anti-poverty programs.

1. Promotion of economic growth:

Low during the initial period [1980’s]
After 1980’s, India’s economic growth has been of the fastest in the world.
6 Percent during the 1980’s and 1990’s
Impact: Economic growth is related to poverty reduction.

2. Targeted anti-poverty programmes:

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee- MGNREGA (2005): 100 days of wage employment for rural households, sustainable development, 33% job reservation for women.
2. Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana- PMRY (1993): Self-employment for educated youth.
3. Rural Employment Generation Programme - REGP (1995): Self-employment in rural areas.
4. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana - SGSY (1999): Self-help groups for financial support.
5. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana - PMGY (2000): Funds for rural development services.
6. Antyodaya Anna Yojana - AAY (2000): The poorest of the poor households are provided food grains (Wheat at Rs.2/- per kg and Rice at Rs.3/- per kg).

The Challenges Ahead

➥ While poverty has declined, it remains a significant challenge.

➥ Steps to tackle poverty:

1. Higher economic growth.
2. Universal free elementary education.
3. Empowerment of women and weaker sections.
4. Controlled population growth.

Class 9 Economics Notes by Pratap Sanjay Sir