Lok Sabha Question No. 476 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-02-26
Subject: Census of Poor People
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: KIRTI (JHA) AZAD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 476 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.02.2016

## CENSUS OF POOR PEOPLE

## 476.  SHRI KIRTI AZAD:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is no provision for census of poor people in the country and the Government only  updates  data  on  the  basis  of  estimate  prepared  by  the  National  Sample  Survey Organisation (NSSO);
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  criteria  adopted  for  differentiating  people  living  below  poverty  line  and middle class people are very comprehensive and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether there is any mechanism in place to ascertain the number of people who have achieved APL status from BPL; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENCE

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

( a ) & ( b ): Since 1992, Ministry of Rural Development has been conducting BPL Censuses through the State Governments and UTs to identify the rural households living Below the Poverty Line who could be assisted under its various programmes. These censuses were conducted in rural areas in 1992, 1997 and 2002. The latest census termed as Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) has been launched in 2011 in rural as well as urban areas. This seeks to identify the target group of  beneficiary  households  for  various  programs/schemes  of  Government  based  on  various characteristics of individual households as obtained in the census.

( c ) The erstwhile Planning Commission estimated the number of people living below the poverty line based on the data collected in household consumer expenditure survey using a poverty line defined in terms of the Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE).The methodology for estimation of poverty followed by the erstwhile Planning Commission had been based on the recommendations made by the experts in the field from time to time. The erstwhile Planning Commission constituted an Expert Group under the chairmanship of Prof. Suresh D. Tendulkar in 2005  to  review  the  methodology  for  estimation  of  poverty.  The  Tendulkar  Committee recommended MPCE of Rs. 447 for rural areas and Rs 579 for urban areas as the poverty line for the year 2004-05, which was accepted by the erstwhile Planning commission. Since January 2011, the  erstwhile  Planning  Commission  had  been  using  Tendulkar  Committee  methodology  to estimate the poverty line and the poverty ratio at national and state level. For the year 2011-12, the  erstwhile  Planning  Commission,  using  the  poverty  line  recommended  by  the  Tendulkar Committee for 2004-05 and updating it to 2011-12 had estimated the poverty lines as monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) of Rs. 816 in rural areas and Rs. 1000 in urban areas. These poverty lines segregate the entire population into two categories i.e., people living below poverty line and people living above poverty line.

( d )  &  ( e )  The  Government has not conducted any national level panel survey to ascertain the number of people who have achieved APL status from the BPL status.

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