Poverty can be defined as a situation when certain sections of people are unable to satisfy the basic needs of life. The poverty measurement differs from country to country. According to an expert group of Planning Commission, poverty line in rural areas are drawn with an intake of 2400 calories in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas. If the person is unable to get that minimum level of calories is considered as being below poverty line.

Even though the middle class has gained a lot from the recent positive economic development, India still suffers a lot from substantial poverty. According to the surveys, estimates show that 19.3 % of India’s population are still living under the poverty line. It was 51.3% in 1977-78 and 36% in 1993-94. The criteria used in the survey was monthly per capita consumption expenditure below Rs. 356.35 for rural areas and Rs. 538.60 for urban areas which is almost under Rs.12 a day for rural population and under Rs.20 a day for urban population. This 19.3% that we are talking about is under the poverty line but what about those who are just a little above the poverty line. That 19.3% accounts for 220 million people (2/3 population of United States).

If we look according to the world standards, atleast 70% of the Indians are living under the poverty line. Although Indian economy has grown steadily, its growth has been uneven when comparing different social groups, economic groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban areas. Wealth distribution in India is fairly uneven with the top 10% earning almost 33% of the total income. The income inequality in India is increasing. India has a higher rate of malnutrition among children under the age of three (46% in year 2007) than any other country in the world.

Causes Of Poverty

A significant fact which stands out is that those parts of India which have been longest under British rule are the poorest today. The Indian economy was purposely deindustrialised (especially in the areas of textiles and metal-working) through colonial privatizations, regulations, tariffs on manufactured or refined Indian goods, taxes and direct seizures. Not only was the Indian industry losing out but we had to rely on British goods that were purposely high priced. The agricultural raw materials exported by Indians were subject to massive price swings and declining terms of trade.

We rely too much on agriculture. There is a surplus of labour in the agriculture field. There is a lack of property rights in India also. An interesting fact is that about 60% of the population of India depends on agriculture but it’s contribution to the GDP is only about 28%. Another big factor that contributes to India’s poverty is the high population growth and lack of education. Despite this, India adds atleast 40 million people to the middle class every year which is quite an achievement. At this rate, majority of Indians will be middle class by 2025.

Outlook For Poverty Alleviation

Eradication of poverty in India can only be a long term goal. We expect to make good achievement in the next 50 years. The government needs to increase the stress on education. The education funding has to go up if we want a better India in future. Education has a major impact in eradicating poverty. We need to reserve seats in the government jobs, increase the empowerment of women and the other weaker sections of society. India needs more poverty reduction programs. The growth of the middle class shows that economic prosperity has improved but it cannot neglect the fact that the distribution of wealth is uneven.

According to me the over population growth and lack of education is the major cause of poverty. Lack of education has a direct link to population growth explosion. India today has only 61% literacy which is quite pathetic compared to 99% of United States. The most important thing that everybody should be taught is to have less children in your family. China improved it’s conditions drastically with the “one norm child planning”. India should also do something similar. If not one, then make it alteast two. The lesser the population, the better the financial conditions of each family will be, thus aiding to poverty reduction. Specially the poor people should realise this crisis. Many of those living under the poverty line marry and have 5-6 kids. Apparently they think that the more the children, the more they will earn and improve their financial conditions. Absolutely false concept. The more the kids, the more the financial stress, they need to realise that they are not improving their conditions but making it worse. They will increase the percentage of people living a life of poverty. This will further increase the government spending on poor, thus a drain on money and resources. If and only if they were educated and taught about economic problems and impact of higher population on our economy, they won’t do such a thing. That is why the education factor is most important.

India’s major goal should be improving education and reducing the population growth for our better future.