POVERTY AS A CHALLENGE

 Std 9 – Economics- Poverty as a challenge

Q1. What is poverty? What are the dimensions of poverty?
Answer:
Poverty is a situation in which a person is unable to get the minimum necessities of life.
Due to poverty poor people are in a situation in which they are ill-treated at almost every place.
The dimensions of poverty are :

• Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter.

• It is a situation in which parents are not able to send their children to school or a situation where sick people cannot afford treatment.

• Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.

• It also means lack of a regular job at a minimum decent level.

• Poor people are in a situation in which they are ill-treated at almost every place, in farms, factories, government offices, hospitals, railway stations etc.

Q2. Discuss the various groups that are vulnerable to poverty.
Answer:
The following groups are vulnerable to poverty :

• Social Groups: Social groups, which are most vulnerable to poverty are Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households. Although, the average for people below poverty line for all groups in India is 22, 43 out of 100 people belonging to Scheduled Tribes are not able to meet their basic needs.

• Economic Groups: Among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural agricultural labour households and the urban casual labour households.

• Inequality of incomes within a family: There is also inequality of incomes within a family. In poor families, all suffer, but some suffer more than others. In some cases, women, elderly people and female infants are denied equal access to resources available to the family.

Q3. How does rapid growth rate of population increase poverty in a country?
Answer:

• Rapid growth of population in comparison to the rate of growth of resources hampers the process of economic development.

• Increase in population reduces the per capita income and lowers the standard of living in an economy.

• In India, rapid growth of population has put in more stress on its economic and social infrastructure and thereby, aggravating the problem of poverty and unemployment.

• Due to the enormous population, a large portion of national income is used on consumption and less is left for saving which, in turn, reduces the capital formation.

• As a result of low capital formation, enough employment opportunities cannot be created which further aggravate the problem of poverty. Poor people in India are ignorant, illiterate and have very few means of entertainment. So, they end up adding more to the population.

Q4. How can poverty be reduced in the future in India?
Answer:
Poverty can be reduced in the following ways :

• Increasing stress on universal free elementary education

• Increasing empowerment of women and the economically weaker sections of society.

• Declining population growth.

• Avoiding caste and gender discrimination.

• Improving healthcare, education and job security.

• Removing inequality of wealth among people.

Q5. What are the major reasons for less effectiveness of anti-poverty measures?
Answer:
The major reasons for less effectiveness of anti-poverty measures are :

• One of the major reasons for less effectiveness is the lack of proper implementation and right targeting.

• Moreover, there has been a lot of overlapping of schemes.

• Despite good intentions, the benefits of these schemes are not fully reached to the deserving poor.

• Therefore, the major emphasis in recent years is on proper monitoring of all the poverty alleviation programmes.

Q6. ‘One historical reason is the low level of economic development under the British colonial administration.’ Explain.
Answer:

• The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged development of industries like textiles.

• The low rate of growth persisted until the nineteen eighties. This resulted in less job opportunities and a low growth rate of incomes.

• This was accompanied by a high growth rate of population. The two combined to make the growth rate of per capita income very low. The failure at both the fronts: promotion of economic growth and population control perpetuated the cycle of poverty.

Q7. Give an account of the inter-state disparities in poverty in India.
Answer:

• States with poverty ratio more than the national average: Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh are the most poverty ridden states of India. The poverty ratio in these states is much higher than the national average. Orissa and Bihar are the poorest states with a poverty ratio of 47 and 43 respectively. Most of these states are facing rural as well as urban poverty.

• States with poverty ratio less than the national average: Recent studies show that in 20 states and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average. There has been a significant decline in poverty ratio in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal.

• States with low poverty ratio: States like Punjab, Haryana, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir have very low percentage of population living below the poverty line.

Q8. “There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction.” Explain.
Answer.

• Over a period of thirty years lasting up to the early eighties, there were little per capita income growth and not much reduction in poverty. Official poverty estimates which were about 45 per cent in the early 1950s remained the same even in the early eighties.

• Since the eighties, India’s economic growth has been one of the fastest in the world. The growth rate jumped from an average of about 3.5% a year in the 1970s to about 6 % during the 1980s and 1990s. The higher growth rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty.

• Economic growth widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human development.

Q9. Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.
Answer:

• British Rule: Britishers ruled India for more than 100 years. Prior to British rule, traditional industries, for instance, textiles, flourished in India. During British rule, the government adopted policies to discourage such industries. This left millions of weavers poor. Even after fifty years of independent India, we can find a major section of the people engaged in handicraft industries as downtrodden.

• Lack of industrialisation: India is very backward from the industrial point of view. Hardly 3 percent of the total working population is engaged in the large- scale industry.

• Over dependence on agriculture: Even after more than 60 years of independence more than 60 per cent of our total population still depends on agriculture for its livelihood. Due to shortage of inputs, our agriculture is backward.

• Inflationary pressure: Upward trend in prices adversely affects the poor sections of the society.

•  Unemployment: Due to lack of job opportunities, more than 90 lakhs of our total working force is unemployed.

Q10. Explain the two methods to estimate the poverty line.
Answer:
The two methods used to estimate poverty line are: –

1. Income method. In this method, the poverty line is estimated with the help of minimum income required. In the year 2011-12, the poverty line for a person was fixed at ₹ 816 per month
   for the rural areas and ₹ 1,000 per month for the urban areas. The higher amount for urban areas has been fixed because of high prices of essential products in urban areas.

2. Consumption method. In this method, the average calorie requirement of a person is multiplied to the current prices. The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,100 calories per person per day in urban areas.

Q11. Elucidate the targeted anti-poverty programmes undertaken by the government.
Answer:
The government has launched many schemes affecting poverty directly or indirectly. Some of the
most important programmes are:

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005. It aims to provide 100 days of wage employment to every household to ensure security of livelihood in rural areas. It also aims at sustainable development to address the causes of drought, soil erosion and deforestation. One-third of the proposed jobs have been reserved for women under this scheme. The share of SCs, STs and women in the scheme are 23%, 17% and 53% respectively. The average wage has increased from ₹ 65 in 2006-07 to ₹ 132 in 2013-14.

2. Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY). It was started in 1993. The aim of the scheme is to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in the rural areas and towns. The youth are provided assistance in setting up small businesses and industries.

3. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP). It was launched in 1995. The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns.

4. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). It was launched in 1999. The aim is to bring the assisted poor families above the poverty line by organising them into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with the help of bank credit and government subsidy.

5.  Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY). It was launched in 2000. Under this, additional central assistance is given to states for basic services like primary health, primary education, rural drinking water and rural electrification.

Q12. What are the main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005?
Answer:
The main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 are:

1. The Act assures 100 days employment every year to every rural household.

2. It also aimed at sustainable development to address the cause of drought, deforestation and soil erosion.

3. One-third of the jobs are reserved for women.

4. The share of SCs, STs and women are 23 per cent, 17 per cent and 53 per cent respectively, (ie) Under this, the average wage has increased from ₹ 65 in 2006-07 to ₹ 132 in 2013-14.

5. The scheme provided employment to 220 crores person days of employment to 4.78 crore households.