Poverty In India

By  

Meghana k,Meghana J,Sruti, Karthik Naga, Aditya, Piyush

INTRODUCTION  One-third

of India's population (roughly equivalent to the entire population of the United States) lives below the poverty line  India is home to one-third of the world's poor people.  Though the middle class has gained from recent economic devolopement as a whole India suffers from substantial poverty.

Poverty in India 

According to the new World Bank's estimates on poverty based on 2005 data, India has 456 million people, 41.6% of its population, living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 per day

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The World Bank further estimates that 33% of the global poor now reside in India.

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Moreover, India also has 828 million people, or 75.6% of the population living below $2 a day, compared to 72.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa

? WHY POVERTY ? ? High level of dependence on primitive methods of agriculture ? 75 per cent of Indian population depends on agriculture whereas the contribution of agriculture to the GDP was 22 percent ? High level of inequality arising from rural-urban divide ? High population growth rate ? Unemployment and under-employment ? Low Illiteracy, about 35 percent of adult population

Poverty- geographical profile

Poverty in India (in Million)

Poor % Population

Central

1990s 320 36

2000 260 19

Who will feed India ? – small and marginal farmers

North East 1999-00 1983-84

West South 0

Millions of poor, malnourished and food insecure population cannot be the foot soldiers fighting the cause of sustainable agriculture

20

40

60

% of population below poverty line

Affects of poverty Health/Well-being Children born into poverty are more likely to have a lower birth weight, high infant mortality and poorer health than better off children.

Housing and Homelessness Conditions such as homelessness and chronic overcrowding significantly impact upon a child’s physical, mental and social development and wellbeing. Dampness, mould and condensation can cause a range of illnesses such as asthma and allergies.

Debt People on low incomes often experience debt. A third of households with incomes of less than Rs2,00,000 a year have problems with debt. Costs of debt repayments often result in families going without essential items. Other costs of debt are those incurred on health, relationships and quality of life.

Educational attainment The correlations between poverty, social class and poor educational experience and attainment have been clearly established. Poverty affects the likelihood of progressing through school to attain formal educational qualifications.

Crime

The areas most affected by crime and poor investment in infrastructure are the very areas where the poorest children live and are brought up.

Participation 

 

Poverty impacts the opportunities for children and young people to participate fully in their communities to engage in social activities their education and training and transitions to independence. Children and young people living in poor households and their families often experience difficulties in accessing and benefiting from services.

Vulnerability- Poor population Poor children /youth and population are vulnerable to one or more of the following  Poor health often leading to malnutrition and death  Adopt demeaning professions like begging and rag pickers etc  More vulnerable to natural disasters like floods, drought and earthquakes etc.

 Graft,

bribery and corruption.  Crime due to insufficiant wealth and get attracted to antisocial activities like theft,robbery,murders etc  Fall prey to anti national activities like extremism / terrorism / naxalism

mitigation Achieving economic development and the alleviation of poverty is very important  well-informed political leadership with a sustained capacity for promptly legislating appropriate policies and efficiently executing public investments that have a high payoff 

availability of suitable physical and informational infrastructure and a skilled workforce

 capacity

for attracting foreign investment, especially those with large footprint in terms of synergies with local informational industry  a global economic ethos as a driver for policy formation  an entrepreneurial culture  the presence of a vigorous not-for-profit organizations.

Government Programmes towards Poverty Reduction • Self Employment Programme  Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana  Wage Employment Programme  Jawahar Gram Samiti Yojana (JGSY)  Employment Assurance Scheme • National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme • Infrastructure Development Programme  Indira Awas Yojana  Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana

 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

 Rural Electrification • National Social Assistance Programme  National Maternity Benefits Scheme  National Old Age Pension Scheme  Annapurna

Alleviation of poverty Strategic measures to raise rural productivity     

launch large-scale infrastructure construction establishing agric-technology extension service network basically covering the whole country setting up national rural cooperative credit system and their efficient functioning pushing forward rapid development of rural fundamental education and basic medical care preliminarily setting up rural social security system with focus on community’s devolpemental system and assistance to rural extremely poor people.

CONCLUSION  Poverty

is the single most cause of misery and sadness in the world  Hunger, malnutrition and susceptibility of poor to natural disasters make them take up anti national and anti social activities  It is the duty of the governments in particular and all citizens in general to try their best to alleviate poverty to establish harmony and peace in the societies and in the world.