{"id":102503,"date":"2026-05-08T17:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=102503"},"modified":"2026-05-08T17:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:36:22","slug":"poverty-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/poverty-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Poverty Line, Meaning, Measurement, India, World Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Poverty Line is a <\/span><b>basic economic concept<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> used to identify the <\/span><b>minimum level of income needed for an individual or family to meet essential needs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and healthcare. It serves as a <\/span><b>benchmark to distinguish between the poor and non-poor in a society.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The poverty line helps governments and policymakers measure poverty, design welfare programmes, and assess the effectiveness of poverty reduction efforts over time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Poverty Line<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The poverty line<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a way to measure the minimum income a person or family needs to meet their basic needs like <\/span><b>food, clothing, shelter, education, and healthcare.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It helps to understand whether a person is able to <\/span><b>afford a basic standard of living or not.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a family earns <\/span><b>less than this minimum amount,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they are considered to be living below the poverty line. Such families are usually seen as <\/span><b>financially weak and may require support from the government.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When people fall below the poverty line, <\/span><b>they may become eligible for government welfare schemes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as food support, housing assistance, healthcare benefits, and employment programmes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The poverty line is <\/span><b>not the same in every country.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Each country decides it based on its own cost of living, including expenses like rent, food prices, transport, and other daily needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a person\u2019s income is above the poverty line, it is assumed that they can manage essential needs like food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and basic services without external help.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Methods of Measuring Poverty Line in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In India, the poverty line is fixed by the Planning Commission (earlier) using data from the <\/span><b>National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This data is collected through regular surveys that study how much money people spend on daily needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These surveys are usually <\/span><b>conducted every five years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and are <\/span><b>based on household consumption rather than income. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means they look at how much people spend on goods and services instead of how much they earn.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To calculate the poverty line, India uses something called a <\/span><b>\u201cpoverty line basket\u201d (PLB).<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This basket includes basic items needed for survival such as food, clothing, fuel, rent, transport, education, and health-related expenses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier, the <\/span><b>PLB was designed mainly on calorie intake needs,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as around <\/span><b>2400 calories in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Over time, this approach has changed as basic needs have expanded beyond just food.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The cost of the items in the PLB is calculated based on <\/span><b>average prices in the country,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which helps decide the minimum monthly or daily spending required to live at a basic standard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In India, <\/span><b>poverty lines are different for rural and urban areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> because living costs are not the same. For example, earlier estimates were around <\/span><b>\u20b9781 per month (rural) and \u20b9965 per month (urban),<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> showing how low the official minimum standard was.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are two main survey methods: <\/span><b>Uniform Reference Period (URP)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Mixed Reference Period (MRP).<\/b> <b>URP<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> asks about spending in the <\/span><b>last 30 days,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> while <\/span><b>MRP<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> includes <\/span><b>both 30-day and 1-year consumption data,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> making it more accurate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over time, expert committees have suggested changes in measurement. The<strong> T<\/strong><\/span><b>endulkar Committee (2009)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> recommended <\/span><b>shifting from calorie-based measurement to nutritional outcomes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and including<\/span><b> health and education costs more clearly.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Tendulkar method<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> showed higher poverty levels compared to older methods, which led to debate because it suggested that more people were poor than earlier official estimates.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Poverty Line Estimation Committees in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Alagh Committee (1979)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> Alagh Committee (1979)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was one of the earliest committees in India to formally define the <\/span><b>poverty line in a systematic way.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It suggested that poverty should be measured based on <\/span><b>minimum nutritional requirements,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> focusing mainly on food intake needed for survival.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It fixed the <\/span><b>basic calorie needs at around 2400 calories per person per day<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in <\/span><b>rural areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>2100 calories in urban areas, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recognising that rural people need more energy due to physical labour.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on these calorie norms, it worked out a <\/span><b>minimum level of spending required to meet basic food needs,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which became the foundation for India\u2019s early poverty line estimates.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Lakdawala Committee (1993)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The Lakdawala Committee (1993)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> improved the earlier method by focusing more on <\/span><b>actual consumption patterns and price changes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> instead of only calorie intake.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It recommended that poverty should be measured <\/span><b>using consumption expenditure data collected by the NSSO <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(National Sample Survey Organisation), making the process more data-driven.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To adjust poverty lines for inflation, it suggested using <\/span><b>CPI-AL<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers) for <\/span><b>rural areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>CPI-IW<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers) for <\/span><b>urban areas.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also introduced the idea of creating<\/span><b> state-specific poverty lines,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since prices of goods and services vary across different states in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Tendulkar Committee (2009)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The Tendulkar Committee (2009)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> brought a major shift in how poverty was measured in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It moved away from the earlier pure calorie-based approach and introduced a more comprehensive <\/span><b>\u201cPoverty Line Basket (PLB)\u201d,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which included not just <\/span><b>food but also basic non-food needs.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It included important expenses like healthcare, education, clothing, and other essential services, recognising that poverty is not only about hunger but also <\/span><b>access to basic human development needs.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It recommended using a uniform poverty basket for both rural and urban areas, but allowed different monetary values because of cost differences.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to its estimates for <\/span><b>2011-12, the poverty line was around \u20b9816 per month in rural areas (about \u20b927\/day) and \u20b91,000 per month in urban areas (about \u20b933\/day).<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on this method, about <\/span><b>21.9% of India\u2019s population<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (nearly 26.9 crore people) was estimated to be <\/span><b>below the poverty line,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with higher poverty in rural areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Rangarajan Committee (2014)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/rangarajan-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rangarajan Committee<\/a> (2014)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was set up to <\/span><b>review and improve the Tendulkar Committee\u2019s<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> approach because many experts felt it underestimated real poverty levels.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It suggested a <\/span><b>broader consumption basket<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and slightly higher minimum expenditure levels to better reflect real living costs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to its estimates, <\/span><b>the poverty line was about \u20b9972 per month in rural areas (around \u20b932\/day) and \u20b91,407 per month in urban areas (around \u20b947\/day).<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using this method, it estimated that around <\/span><b>29.5% of India\u2019s population in 2011-12 was below the poverty line,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which was significantly higher than the Tendulkar estimate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the government did not officially accept this report, so the Tendulkar Committee\u2019s estimates remained the last official poverty figures used for policy for a long time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>International Poverty Line by World Bank<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/world-bank\/\" target=\"_blank\"> World Bank<\/a> international poverty line<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a global standard used to measure extreme poverty across countries. As of <\/span><b>June 2025,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it has been updated to <\/span><b>$3.00 per person per day,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> based on <\/span><b>2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) data. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This replaces the earlier <\/span><b>$2.15 (2017 PPP) line.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that anyone living on less than $3 a day is considered to be in extreme poverty according to the latest global standard. The update reflects changes in prices and cost of living, especially in low-income countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main reason for this revision is <\/span><b>updated global price data from the International Comparison Program (ICP),<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which collects information on how much goods and services cost in different countries. This helps convert currencies into a common comparison unit using <\/span><b>PPP (Purchasing Power Parity).<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With rising prices and inflation in many low-income countries, the cost of meeting basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter has increased, which led to the revision of the poverty line.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on this new standard, it is estimated that around <\/span><b>831 million people worldwide are living in extreme poverty,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> showing that poverty remains a major global challenge.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apart from the extreme poverty line, the World Bank also uses other income levels for better comparison:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>$4.20 per day for lower-middle-income countries<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>$8.30 per day for upper-middle-income countries<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These additional poverty lines help in understanding poverty in countries where living standards are higher than the poorest nations, but where many people are still struggling to meet basic needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The World Bank also uses a <\/span><b>societal poverty line,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which adjusts with a country\u2019s income level, meaning that as a country becomes richer, the definition of poverty also becomes stricter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another important concept is the <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/multidimensional-poverty-index\/\" target=\"_blank\">Multidimensional Poverty Measure<\/a>,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which looks beyond income and includes factors like education, health, and living conditions, giving a broader understanding of poverty.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These global poverty measures are widely used to track progress towards international goals like the<\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/sustainable-development-goals\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Sustainable Development Goals<\/a>,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which aim to reduce extreme poverty worldwide.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are also useful for comparing countries and monitoring global poverty trends, helping organisations like the World Bank and United Nations design global development policies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For understanding poverty within a specific country, the national poverty line is more appropriate, as it is designed according to local prices, consumption patterns, and living standards.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The World Bank regularly updates its poverty estimates whenever new global price data becomes available. <\/span><b>The latest update is based on 2021 price data, released in 2024, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which is now being used for global poverty calculations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier methods of measuring poverty have not changed, but the data and price adjustments are updated regularly to make estimates more accurate and realistic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the <\/span><b>2025 update, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">changes in price levels, revised poverty lines, and new household survey data (including data from countries like India) have all affected global poverty estimates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, global extreme poverty estimates have increased by about <\/span><b>125 million people, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meaning more people are now classified as poor under the updated standard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Region-wise impacts also vary:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>South Asia, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about <\/span><b>45 million fewer people<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are now estimated to be in extreme poverty.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>Sub-Saharan Africa, around 111 million more people<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are now considered extremely poor due to revised calculations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Meaning of Multidimensional Poverty<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Multidimensional poverty means looking at poverty in a broader way, not just through income, but by considering many different aspects of life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It includes the idea that a person is poor if they face multiple deprivations in daily living, not only if they earn less money.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These deprivations can include poor health, lack of education, low-quality living conditions, unemployment or poor jobs, and even lack of safety or exposure to violence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Measurement of Multidimensional Poverty<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Multidimensional poverty is measured using the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which checks <\/span><b>poverty at the individual level<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rather than just households or income levels.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most commonly used method to calculate MPI is the <\/span><b>Alkire-Foster Method, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which combines different indicators of deprivation into one index.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (GMPI)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/multidimensional-poverty-index\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Global MPI (GMPI)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an internationally recognised measure developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative <\/span><b>(OPHI)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the United Nations Development Programme <\/span><b>(UNDP)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since 2010.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It covers around 100 developing countries and focuses on three major areas: <\/span><b>health, education, and living standards.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A person is considered MPI poor if they are deprived in at least one-third of 10 weighted indicators.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These indicators capture multiple hardships at the same time, such as malnutrition, lack of schooling, poor housing, and lack of basic facilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI &#8211; India)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has developed its own version called the National MPI (NMPI), which follows the global model but is <\/span><b>adjusted to suit Indian conditions.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It keeps the original <\/span><b>10 indicators and adds two more important indicators: Maternal Health and Bank Account access,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reflecting India\u2019s policy priorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NMPI is calculated using two main parts:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Headcount Ratio (H): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the percentage of people who are multidimensionally poor.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Intensity of Poverty (A):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> how many deprivations, on average, a poor person suffers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final MPI value is a combination of both how many people are poor and how poor they are, giving a fuller picture of deprivation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In India, <\/span><b>NITI Aayog is responsible for measuring MPI<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the Global Indices for Reforms and Growth (GIRG) framework.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The data used comes from the <\/span><b>National Family Health Survey (NFHS), and the latest report is based on NFHS-4 and NFHS-5<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Key Findings from Recent MPI Report<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has seen a strong decline in multidimensional poverty, with the poverty headcount falling from <\/span><b>29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around <\/span><b>24.82 crore people<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have moved out of multidimensional poverty in the last 9 years, showing major improvement in living conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only has the number of poor reduced, but the <\/span><b>intensity of poverty has also decreased,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> meaning people who are still poor are experiencing fewer deprivations than before.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>All 12 indicators of MPI have shown improvement,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> especially in areas like electricity access, sanitation, and housing conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The highest levels of <\/span><b>deprivation are still seen in cooking fuel and housing,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> while the lowest are in bank accounts, electricity, and child mortality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">States like <\/span><b>Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have shown the <\/span><b>fastest decline in poverty levels.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is considered on<\/span><b> track to achieve SDG Target 1.2,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which aims to reduce multidimensional poverty by at least half before 2030.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government schemes like PM Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya, Swachh Bharat Mission, and Jal Jeevan Mission have played a major role in improving living conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Importance of NMPI<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NMPI provides a more detailed and realistic understanding of poverty, as it looks <\/span><b>beyond income and includes multiple aspects of life.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It helps identify poverty even at the district and regional level, making it more useful for targeted planning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It allows governments to design focused welfare programmes for the most deprived groups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It captures overlapping disadvantages, such as when a person lacks both education and healthcare, affecting overall well-being.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Limitations of NMPI<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The MPI may sometimes be less sensitive, because a person must be deprived in at least one-third of indicators to be classified as poor.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This rule can miss people who are slightly below the threshold but still struggling in real life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some experts argue that it does not fully capture the impact of events like the COVID-19 pandemic, especially job losses and health system stress.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may also not reflect issues like stagnant wages and changing consumption patterns, which can affect living standards even if MPI shows improvement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Challenges in Defining Poverty Line<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Narrow focus on income\/consumption:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The poverty line mainly uses consumption expenditure, so it does not fully reflect other aspects of poverty like health, education, sanitation, and living conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Does not show real living conditions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It often fails to capture the actual hardships of daily life, such as poor housing quality, lack of clean water, or job insecurity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Issues with Poverty Line Basket (PLB): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The selection of goods and services in the PLB is difficult because prices of essentials vary widely across states, regions, and time periods.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ignores regional differences: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A single national poverty line does not properly reflect differences in cost of living between rural areas, small towns, and big cities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Excludes near-poor population: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People who are just above the poverty line but still struggling are not counted, even though they may face serious economic difficulties.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Limited focus on vulnerable groups:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It does not specifically highlight the conditions of women, children, elderly, and disabled people, who often face deeper disadvantages.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>No impact of sudden shocks:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It does not account for unexpected events like job loss, illness, disasters, or pandemics that can push families into poverty.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Static and delayed updates: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poverty lines are not updated frequently, so they may not reflect current inflation and changing living standards.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Minimal standard of living approach:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It measures only basic survival needs, not a dignified or adequate standard of living.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Significance of Poverty Line in Policy Making<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Measuring the extent of poverty:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The poverty line provides a clear way to estimate how many people are poor in the country. It helps convert poverty from a general idea into a measurable figure (headcount ratio), which shows the scale of the problem.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Understanding progress over time:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> By comparing poverty data across different years, the government can check whether poverty is increasing or decreasing. A fall in the number of people below the poverty line indicates that welfare policies and economic growth are making a positive impact.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Helping in targeted welfare delivery:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> One of the most important uses of the poverty line is in identifying Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. This ensures that government benefits reach the right people through schemes like:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>PDS (Public Distribution System): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subsidised food grains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pmay-urban\/\" target=\"_blank\">PM Awas Yojana<\/a> (PMAY): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Affordable housing for poor families<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>VB-G RAM G:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Employment support for rural households, especially the most vulnerable<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>NSAP pensions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Financial support for elderly, widows, and disabled persons<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/ayushman-bharat\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ayushman Bharat<\/a>:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Health insurance for poor and vulnerable families<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Supporting inclusive economic growth: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The poverty line helps evaluate whether economic growth is benefiting all sections of society or only a few. If GDP grows but poverty does not reduce, it shows that growth is not inclusive or not reaching the poor.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Guiding government planning and budgeting:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Poverty estimates help the government design budgets and allocate resources more effectively. It ensures that more funds are directed towards poverty alleviation and social welfare programmes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Helping in policy evaluation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It acts as a tool to judge the success of various government schemes. If poverty levels decline after implementing a programme, it suggests that the policy is effective and impactful.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Supporting constitutional goals:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Although the Constitution does not directly mention the poverty line, it aligns with the Directive Principles of State Policy, which aim to create a society based on social, economic, and political justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Poverty Line in India explains poverty measurement, MPI, World Bank standards, poverty committees, welfare schemes and policy impact in India and research use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":102382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[5248,5249,7424],"class_list":{"0":"post-102503","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-indian-society","9":"tag-indian-society-notes","10":"tag-poverty-line","11":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102503"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102566,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102503\/revisions\/102566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}