The planning commission's poverty estimates, drawn up using methodology suggested by the Suresh Tendulkar committee, were roundly criticised. Therefore, the government has dropped it like a hot potato and is blaming late Suresh tendulkar himself!

While the government has consistently framed policy for the poor using the Tendulkar poverty bar, it has now scrapped the same and has announced the setting up of a new committee that will revise the methodology or draw up a new one for fresh estimates of poverty in the country.

On one hand, the move is merited as the estimates are quite unrealistic. On the other, we already have many alternatives (remeber Arjun Sengupta committtee report?) to calculate poverty.

Do you think India needs a new poverty definition?