Poverty as a challenge -Extra Question -Answer
Short Answer Type Questions
Q.1. State two consequences of poverty.
Ans: Two consequences of poverty are:
Growth of slums
High level of indebtedness
Q.2. When is a person considered poor?
Ans: If the level of income and consumption falls below the minimum level of income and
consumption of this line, then the person is considered to be poor.
Q.3. Which social groups are vulnerable to poverty?
Ans: In India, the social groups that are highly vulnerable to poverty include the Scheduled
tribes and Scheduled castes, while the most vulnerable economic groups consist of casual labor
households in urban areas and those in rural areas dependent on agricultural labor.
Q.4. What led to a substantial decline in poverty in China?
Ans: The substantial decline in poverty in China has been due to rapid economic growth
Massive investment in human resource development.
Q.5. Explain any three social indicators through which poverty is looked upon.
Ans: Poverty today is looked upon through social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of access to
healthcare, lack of job opportunities etc.
(a) People are poor because they are illiterate and they are illiterate because they are poor.
(b) Poverty is a situation where sick people cannot afford treatment, i.e., they lack access to
healthcare.
(c) Poverty also implies the lack of a regular job: at a minimum decent level.
Long Answer Type Questions
Q.1. Mention any four causes of poverty in India.
OR
Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.
Ans: There are a number of causes responsible for the widespread poverty in India. Some of
them are:
(a) Low level of economic development under British rule in India.
(b) The decline of the Indian handicrafts industry, which led to unemployment, poverty and
misery which were responsible for the low rate of income growth.
(c) Social factors like caste system, religious faiths and beliefs also kept a certain section of
people in society in poverty.
(d) The high growth rate of population led to a very low per capita income in the country.
(e) Huge income inequalities due to unequal distribution of land and other resources.
Q.2. What are the main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005?
Ans: The main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 are:
• The Act assures 100 days of employment every year to every rural household.
• One-third of the jobs are reserved for women.
• It also aimed at sustainable development to address the cause of drought, deforestation and
soil erosion.
• The share of SCs, STs and women are 23 %, 17% and 53% respectively.
• Under this, the average wage has increased from Rs 65 in 2006-07 to Rs 132 in 2013-14.
• The scheme provided employment to 220 crores person-days of employment to 4.78 crore
households.
• In March 2018, the wage rate for unskilled manual workers has been revised again statewide.
• The range of wage rates for different states and union territories lies in between Rs 281 per
day (for the workers in Haryana) to Rs 168 per day (for the workers in Bihar and Jharkhand).
Q.3. Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India.
Ans:
1. The poverty line in India is estimated periodically, usually every five years, by conducting
sample surveys.
2. These surveys are carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).
3. The accepted average calorie requirement for determining the poverty line is 2,400 calories
per person per day in rural areas and 2,100 calories per person per day in urban areas.
4. In the year 2011-12, the poverty line for a person was fixed at Rs 816 per month for rural
areas and Rs 1,000 for urban areas.
5. International organizations like the World Bank use a uniform standard for the poverty line for
making comparisons between developing countries, i.e., minimum availability of the equivalent
of $1.90 per person per day.
Q.4. Give an account of the inter-state disparities in poverty in India.
Ans: Below is the account of inter-state disparities in poverty in India.
States with poverty ratio less than the national average: Recent studies show that in 20 states
and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average.
There has been a significant decline in the poverty ratio in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Gujarat and West Bengal.
States with low poverty ratio: States like Punjab, Haryana, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu
Kashmir have a very low percentage of the population living below the poverty line.
Q.5. “There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction.” Explain.
Ans: The following points explain that there is strong link between economic growth and poverty
reduction:
Over a period of thirty years lasting up to the early eighties, there were little per capita income
growth and not much reduction in poverty. Official poverty estimates which were about 45 per
cent in the early 1950s remained the same even in the early eighties.
Since the eighties, India’s economic growth has been one of the fastest in the world. The growth
rate jumped from an average of about 3.5% a year in the 1970s to about 6 % cent during the
1980s and 1990s. The higher growth rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty.
Economic growth widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human
development.
