Population of poor thinning: Plan panel

Terms poverty as "relative concept"

PTI | September 26, 2011



Amid public outcry over pegging urban poverty line at per capita consumption of Rs 32 a day, Planning Commission on Monday said the percentage of poor is declining in the country.

"The percentage of people who are poor today is declining, whether you use the Tendulkar method or the method used previously," Plan panel member Arun Maira told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham function in New Delhi.

The statement follows an uproar over Plan panel's recent calculation of poverty line based on the Tendulkar methodology, which also include spending on health and education, besides calorie intake.

In its affidavit before the Supreme Court, the Planning Commission has stated that a person with consumption of up to Rs 32 per day would be considered poor in urban areas. The per capita consumption limit in rural area has been fixed at Rs 26 a day.

The Tendulkar panel, Maira added, "was asked to (suggest) a measurement method for a broad assessment of whether Government programmes are improving situations or not."

He said that poverty is relative concept and comparing today's poverty with that of the past would be incorrect.

"I believe that even a person who is getting Rs 15,000 (per month) today, is poor. Poverty is a very relative thing too... So, poverty level is also defined by what is happening to the rest of the country", he added.

As per Plan panel's estimates, based on the Tendulkar Committee's methodology, 40.74 crore people were poor as on March 1, 2005. India's population is 121 crore as per the 2011 Census.

Comments

 

Other News

Can AI change India’s breast cancer story?

Breast cancer has become a public-health challenge in India. The greatest opportunity is to find cancers earlier. Artificial intelligence (AI) is opening a new era in breast cancer detection. AI systems can analyse mammograms and other breast-imaging studies, identify subtle abnormalities and assist radi

Farm stability in the time of climate change

Indian agriculture is experiencing significant climate volatility, while the world economy seems to be in a highly volatile situation. Economic indices from various countries show that they need to recalibrate their strategies to withstand economic headwinds. In such a challenging situation, a country li

El Niño threatens India’s Rabi crops

India’s southwest monsoon ended with a 13% rainfall deficit in 2026, its weakest performance in a decade, raising concerns over agricultural production, water security and the upcoming rabi season. With El Niño expected to persist into early 2027, experts warn that declining soil moisture, dep

Regulating the data advantage: India’s new e-Commerce framework

For over a decade, India’s e-commerce story has rested on a simple premise: platforms connect buyers and sellers, while data fuels efficiency, personalisation, and scale. However, as the market matured, its structure has revealed a growing imbalance. E-commerce platforms, especially marketplace ent

Changing weather patterns, climate change responsible for Nepal floods

The interaction between active Western Disturbances, increased atmospheric moisture and the region’s complex topography aswell as global warming are important factors behind intense rainfall in the Himalayas, leading to flash floods in Nepal, according to meteorologists. Nepal

A right she cannot reach

Last summer, the two of us spent several weeks in rural Madhya Pradesh with a non-profit that works on gender justice through women’s self-help groups. We went in with a notebook full of laws. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. The Dowry Prohibition Act. Free legal aid for every wo

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter