CBSE Class 09 Social Science
Revision Notes
Chapter 3
Economics - POVERTY AS A CHALLENGE
In our daily life we come across many poor people such as land
less labourers in villages, people living in jhuggis, daily wage workers at
construction sites, child labourers in dhabas, rickshaw-pullers, domestic
servants, cobblers, beggars, etc. About 30 crore people live in poverty.
Poverty : Usually the levels of income and consumption are used to define
poverty. In India, poverty can be defined as the lack of common things like
food, clothing and shelter, safe drinking water, medical care and education,
which determine quality of life. Poverty has both dimensions economical and
social.
Other Indicators of Poverty: Now poverty is looked
through other social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of access to health
care, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water,
sanitation, etc. Nowadays, the concept of social exclusion is becoming very common
in the analysis of poverty. Social exclusion means , generally poor are
excluded in the community of better off people.
Vulnerability
Vulnerability describes the greater probability of certain
communities or individuals of becoming, or remaining, poor in the coming years.
The people from backward cast, individuals like widows, physically handicapped
are more vulnerable. They possess greater risks at the time of natural
disasters.
Poverty Line
It is based on the income or consumption level. A person is
considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given 'minimum
level' necessary to satisfy basic needs. Poverty line varies with time place.
For the year 2009-10, the poverty line for a person was fixed at
Rs.673 per month for rural area and Rs. 860 for the urban areas. The poverty
line is estimated periodically by conducting sample surveys by National Sample Survey
Organisation. ( NSSO)
Estimates of Poverty: The incidence of poverty
in India was around 55 per cent in 1973 which declined to 36 per cent in 1993
and further to 26 per cent in 2000. The poverty in India is reduced percent
wise but number wise it is huge. Social groups which are most vulnerable to
poverty are Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households.
Inequality of Incomes within a Family: In
poor families, old people, women and female children are denied equal access to
family’s available resources. They are the poorest of the poor.
Inter-State Disparities : The proportion of poor
people is not the same in every state. In 20 states and union territories the
poverty ratio is less than the national average. Orissa and Bihar are the
poorest states of India with poverty ratios of 47 per cent and 43 per cent respectively.
Lowest incidence of poverty is found in Jammu and Kashmir with poverty ratio of
just 3.5 per cent.
Global Poverty Scenario: There has been substantial
decline in global poverty. However, it is marked with great regional
differences. Poverty has declined more in China and South-East Asian countries.
World bank has defined poverty as the people earning less than 1.25 $ per day. The
Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations call for reducing the
proportion of people below poverty line to half the 1990 level by 2015.
Causes of Poverty : There are a number of causes
for the widespread poverty in India. One historical reason is the low level of
economic development under the British colonial administration. There are some
other reasons. These are :
1. Rapid growth of population, particularly among the poor
is considered a major cause of Indian poverty.
2. Our agricultural sector has failed to generate much
employment opportunities for the farm labourers. Similarly, our industries
could not provide much job for the job seekers.
3. One of the major causes of poverty is the unequal
distribution of land and other resources. Various land reform measures
introduced after Independence could not improve the life of millions of rural
poor because of their poor implementation.
4. Social factors: People in India, including the very
poor, spend a lot of money on social occasions like marriages, festivals, etc.
Poor people hardly have any savings; they are, thus forced to borrow. Unable to
pay because of poverty, they became victims of indebtedness. Joint family
system has prevented people from doing hard work.
Steps taken by the Government for Poverty Alleviation
Our government’s strategy to poverty reduction has been twofold.
One, promotion of economic growth and, two, targeted poverty alleviation
programmes.
Poverty Alleviation Programmes: To address the
poor, a need for targeted anti-poverty programmes was strongly felt. Some of
them are given below :
1. Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana (PMRY):
The aim of this programme (which was started in 1993) was to create
self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and
small towns.
2. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP): REGP
was launched in 1995 to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas.
3. Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY):
SGSY was started in 1999. The programme aims at bringing the assisted poor
families above the poverty line.
4. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) was
launched in 2000.
5. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) for ‘the poorest of
poor’s and elders.
6. National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) was
launched in 2004.
7. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was
passed in September 2005. The Act provides 100-days assured employment every
year to every rural household in 200 districts.
The Challenges Ahead : Though poverty has
declined in India, poverty reduction remains India’s most compelling challenge.
We will have to do something special to fight against wide regional
disparities. We must broaden the definition of poverty from ‘a minimum
subsistence level of living to a reasonable level of living’. Bigger challenges
before us are: providing health care, education and job security for all the achieving
gender equality.