Lok Sabha Question No. 1546 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-04
Subject: Poverty in India
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: VIRENDRA  KUMAR, PASHUPATI NATH SINGH, PRATAPRAO GANPATRAO JADHAV, LAXMAN GILUWA, BHAGWANTH KHUBA, ELUMALAI VELLAIGOUNDER, KAMLA DEVI PATLE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1546 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.03.2016

## POVERTY IN INDIA

## †1546. DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR:

SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH:

SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV:

SHRI LAXMAN GILUWA:

SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA:

SHRI V. ELUMALAI:

SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether a large number of people in the country are living Below Poverty Line (BPL), if so, the details thereof State/ UT-wise along with the criteria fixed to determine the BPL;
- (b)  whether the Government has identified the reasons for the rise in poverty level in various States, particularly in Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)    whether  Suresh  Tendulkar  Committee appointed to decide the criteria of poverty line has recommended to stop the separate calorie parameters for rural and urban areas, if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government thereon;
- (d)  whether the Government has any proposal to conduct a survey in collaboration with some community  based  organizations/NGOs  to  identify  the  poorest  among  poor  people  living  in different States of the country, if so, the details thereof along with the time by which the said survey is likely to be completed;
- (e) whether the Government has taken any steps to review the performance of schemes/programmes being implemented for eradicating  poverty  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the details and findings thereof; and
- (f)   the concrete measures taken/being taken by the Government to improve the quality of life of the poor people and reduce poverty in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) The erstwhile Planning Commission estimated the number of people living below the poverty line  from  the  Large  Sample  Surveys  on  Household  Consumer  Expenditure  carried  out  by  the

National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)  of the Ministry of Statistics  and  Programme Implementation. These surveys are normally conducted on quinquennial basis. The latest data of Large Sample Survey on Household Consumer Expenditure has been collected by NSSO in its 68 th round conducted in 2011-12. Based on this data, the erstwhile Planning Commission estimated poverty lines and poverty ratio in 2011-12  following  the  extant  Tendulkar  Committee methodology and released through a Press Note issued on 22 nd July 2013. According to this Press Note, the number of persons living below poverty line in India has been estimated as 27 crore in 2011-12. The poverty line has been defined on the basis of Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) as the criterion. For the year 2011-12, the poverty line at all India level has been estimated as MPCE of Rs. 816 for rural areas and Rs. 1000 for urban areas. These poverty lines vary from state to state because of price differentials. The State/UT wise poverty line and number of persons living below poverty line in 2011-12 are given at Annexure I .

(b) According to the Press Note issued on 22 nd July 2013, the poverty ratio in the country including in states like Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has come down from 2004-05 to 2011-12. The State/UT-wise details of poverty ratio in 2004-05 and 2011-12 are given at Annexure II .

(c) The methodology for estimation of poverty followed by the erstwhile Planning Commission has been based on the recommendations made by the experts in the field from time to time. An Expert Group was constituted under the chairmanship of Prof. Suresh D. Tendulkar in 2005 to review the methodology for estimation of poverty. The Tendulkar Committee, which submitted its Report in 2009, has stated the following with regard to anchoring of poverty line with calorie norms:

' The expert group has also taken a conscious decision to move away from anchoring the poverty lines to a calorie intake norm in view of the fact that calorie consumption calculated by converting the consumed quantities in the last 30 days as collected by NSS has not been found to be well correlated with the nutritional outcomes observed from other specialized surveys either over time or across space (i.e. between states or rural and urban areas).'

The  methodology  recommended  by  the  Tendulkar  Committee  was  accepted  by  the  erstwhile Planning Commission.

- (d) At present, there is no such proposal to conduct a survey in collaboration with some community based organizations/NGOs to identify the poorest among poor people living in different States of the country.

(e)  Various  schemes/programmes  being  implemented  by  the  Government  help  directly  or indirectly in improving the standard of living of poor people thereby contributing in reduction of poverty  in  the  country.  These  schemes/programmes  are  reviewed  from  time  to  time  and  the findings  of  such  reviews  are  considered  while  modifying  the  schemes/programmes.  The Programme  Evaluation  Organisation  (now  Development  Monitoring  and  Evaluation  Office (DMEO) since September 2015) has been carrying out evaluation of the Central Sector Schemes and Centrally Sponsored Schemes. The main objective of these evaluation studies is to assess the impact and effectiveness of the schemes in addition to finding out any deficiencies or problems in the implementation/designs of the schemes in a view to give suitable recommendations for their timely resolution. The details and findings of these evaluation reports could be accessed on the erstwhile Planning Commission's website i.e., http://planningcommission.gov.in/reports/peoreport/index.php?Reptspeobody.htm  and  the  NITI Aayog's website i.e. http://www.niti.gov.in/content/reports.php.

(f) The Government has initiated various measures to improve the quality of life of the people and to  reduce  poverty  in  the  country  through  direct  intervention  by  implementing  specific  poverty reduction and mitigation programmes. These include Prime Minister's Jan-DhanYojana (PMJDY),  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS), National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), Atal Mission  for  Rejuvenation  and  Urban  Transformation  Mission  (AMRUT),  Housing  for  All, National Health Mission (NHM), Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyaan (SSA), Integrated Child Development Scheme  (ICDS),  Mid-Day  Meal  Scheme  (MDMS),  Swachh  Bharat  Mission,  National  Social Assistance  Programme  (NSAP),  Targeted  Public  Distribution  System  (TPDS)/  National  Food Security  Act  (NFSA),  road  connectivity  through  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  Sadak  Yojana (PMGSY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti BimaYojana, the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana etc. There are many other initiatives which are directly taken by the State Governments keeping in view the State and district-specific requirements. The emphasis of the Government is on 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' which symbolizes inclusive development.

*****

## Annexure I

## Poverty Lines and number of persons living below poverty line for 2011-12 (Tendulkar Methodology)

| S.No.   |                   | Poverty Line (Rs)   | Poverty Line (Rs)   | Number of persons (Lakhs)   | Number of persons (Lakhs)   | Number of persons (Lakhs)   |
|---------|-------------------|---------------------|---------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
| S.No.   | State             | Rural               | Urban               | Rural                       | Urban                       | Total                       |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh    | 860                 | 1009                | 61.8                        | 17.0                        | 78.8                        |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh | 930                 | 1060                | 4.2                         | 0.7                         | 4.9                         |
| 3       | Assam             | 828                 | 1008                | 92.1                        | 9.2                         | 101.3                       |
| 4       | Bihar             | 778                 | 923                 | 320.4                       | 37.8                        | 358.2                       |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh      | 738                 | 849                 | 88.9                        | 15.2                        | 104.1                       |
| 6       | Delhi             | 1145                | 1134                | 0.5                         | 16.5                        | 17.0                        |
| 7       | Goa               | 1090                | 1134                | 0.4                         | 0.4                         | 0.8                         |
| 8       | Gujarat           | 932                 | 1152                | 75.4                        | 26.9                        | 102.2                       |
| 9       | Haryana           | 1015                | 1169                | 19.4                        | 9.4                         | 28.8                        |
| 10      | Himachal Pradesh  | 913                 | 1064                | 5.3                         | 0.3                         | 5.6                         |
| 11      | Jammu &Kashmir    | 891                 | 988                 | 10.7                        | 2.5                         | 13.3                        |
| 12      | Jharkhand         | 748                 | 974                 | 104.1                       | 20.2                        | 124.3                       |
| 13      | Karnataka         | 902                 | 1089                | 92.8                        | 37.0                        | 129.8                       |
| 14      | Kerala            | 1018                | 987                 | 15.5                        | 8.5                         | 23.9                        |
| 15      | Madhya Pradesh    | 771                 | 897                 | 191.0                       | 43.1                        | 234.1                       |
| 16      | Maharashtra       | 967                 | 1126                | 150.6                       | 47.4                        | 197.9                       |
| 17      | Manipur           | 1118                | 1170                | 7.4                         | 2.8                         | 10.2                        |
| 18      | Meghalaya         | 888                 | 1154                | 3.0                         | 0.6                         | 3.6                         |
| 19      | Mizoram           | 1066                | 1155                | 1.9                         | 0.4                         | 2.3                         |
| 20      | Nagaland          | 1270                | 1302                | 2.8                         | 1.0                         | 3.8                         |
| 21      | Odisha            | 695                 | 861                 | 126.1                       | 12.4                        | 138.5                       |
| 22      | Punjab            | 1054                | 1155                | 13.4                        | 9.8                         | 23.2                        |
| 23      | Rajasthan         | 905                 | 1002                | 84.2                        | 18.7                        | 102.9                       |
| 24      | Sikkim            | 930                 | 1226                | 0.4                         | 0.1                         | 0.5                         |
| 25      | Tamil Nadu        | 880                 | 937                 | 59.2                        | 23.4                        | 82.6                        |
| 26      | Tripura           | 798                 | 920                 | 4.5                         | 0.8                         | 5.2                         |
| 27      | Uttarakhand       | 880                 | 1082                | 8.2                         | 3.4                         | 11.6                        |
| 28      | Uttar Pradesh     | 768                 | 941                 | 479.4                       | 118.8                       | 598.2                       |
| 29      | West Bengal       | 783                 | 981                 | 141.1                       | 43.8                        | 185.0                       |
| 30      | Puducherry        | 1301                | 1309                | 0.7                         | 0.6                         | 1.2                         |
|         | All India         | 816                 | 1000                | 2166.6                      | 531.2                       | 2697.8                      |

## Poverty ratio for 2004-05 and 2011-12 (Tendulkar Methodology)

| S.No.   | States            |   2004-05 |   2011-12 |
|---------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh    |      29.9 |       9.2 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh |      31.1 |      34.7 |
| 3       | Assam             |      34.4 |      32   |
| 4       | Bihar             |      54.4 |      33.7 |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh      |      49.4 |      39.9 |
| 6       | Delhi             |      13.1 |       9.9 |
| 7       | Goa               |      25   |       5.1 |
| 8       | Gujarat           |      31.8 |      16.6 |
| 9       | Haryana           |      24.1 |      11.2 |
| 10      | Himachal Pradesh  |      22.9 |       8.1 |
| 11      | Jammu &Kashmir    |      13.2 |      10.4 |
| 12      | Jharkhand         |      45.3 |      37   |
| 13      | Karnataka         |      33.4 |      20.9 |
| 14      | Kerala            |      19.7 |       7.1 |
| 15      | Madhya Pradesh    |      48.6 |      31.7 |
| 16      | Maharashtra       |      38.1 |      17.4 |
| 17      | Manipur           |      38   |      36.9 |
| 18      | Meghalaya         |      16.1 |      11.9 |
| 19      | Mizoram           |      15.3 |      20.4 |
| 20      | Nagaland          |       9   |      18.9 |
| 21      | Odisha            |      57.2 |      32.6 |
| 22      | Puducherry        |      14.1 |       9.7 |
| 23      | Punjab            |      20.9 |       8.3 |
| 24      | Rajasthan         |      34.4 |      14.7 |
| 25      | Sikkim            |      31.1 |       8.2 |
| 26      | Tamil Nadu        |      28.9 |      11.3 |
| 27      | Tripura           |      40.6 |      14.1 |
| 28      | Uttar Pradesh     |      40.9 |      29.4 |
| 29      | Uttarakhand       |      32.7 |      11.3 |
| 30      | West Bengal       |      34.3 |      20   |
|         | All India         |      37.2 |      21.9 |

## Annexure II