Poverty — Measurement, Trends, and Programmes

4.1 Poverty Measurement in India

Poverty Line Approaches:

1. Caloric Norm: Early approach (1970s-80s); poverty line = income needed to purchase minimum daily calories (2,400 kcal rural, 2,100 kcal urban — Planning Commission 1979)
2. Lakdawala Committee (1993): Updated the calorie-based approach; state-specific poverty lines
3. Tendulkar Committee (2009): Shifted from caloric approach to consumption basket approach — includes food + clothing + shelter + health + education. Poverty Line: Rs 33.3/day (urban), Rs 27.2/day (rural) at 2011-12 prices. Head Count Ratio: 21.9% (2011-12)
4. Rangarajan Committee (2014): Revised higher poverty line (Rs 47/day urban, Rs 32/day rural at 2011-12 prices) — would give HCR of 29.5%. Recommendations not officially adopted.
5. New Methodology (Under Development): Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 (HCES) data released in 2024 — will inform next official poverty estimate

World Bank Poverty Lines:

• $2.15/day PPP (2017): Extreme poverty — India's rate estimated < 5% (2023)
• $3.65/day PPP (2017): Lower-middle-income poverty — India has ~30%
• $6.85/day PPP (2017): Upper-middle-income poverty — India has ~80%

NITI Aayog Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI):

Based on OPHI-Oxford MPI methodology — 3 dimensions (Health, Education, Living Standards), 12 indicators.

• 2013-14: 29.17% multidimensionally poor
• 2015-16: 24.85%
• 2019-21: 14.96%
• 2022-23: 11.28%
• Net reduction: 24.82 crore people lifted from MPI poverty (2015-16 to 2019-21)
• Biggest drivers of improvement: Cooking fuel, sanitation, nutrition, bank accounts, electricity

India's Poverty Paradox: While headcount measures improve, relative poverty and inequality remain. India's Gini coefficient is approximately 35-38 (CMIE data); the top 10% hold ~55% of income.

4.2 Food Security Architecture

National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013:

• Covers 81.35 crore beneficiaries (67% of population)
• Priority Households (PHH): 5 kg grains/month at highly subsidised prices
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY, poorest of poor): 35 kg/month
• From January 2024 (PMGKAY merged with NFSA): All NFSA beneficiaries get free grain (earlier Rs 2-3/kg subsidised)
• Annual food grain: ~62 million tonnes distributed

PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY): Launched during COVID-19 lockdown (April 2020) — 5 kg free grain over NFSA. Extended multiple times; merged with NFSA from January 2024. Cost: Rs 2.05 lakh crore/year food subsidy.

One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC): Portability of ration cards — migrant workers can access PDS anywhere in India. Implemented across all states; 95 crore+ transactions under portability.

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