Essay on Poverty as a Major Problem of India – Poverty is one of the most widespread socio-economic problems of India. It is, indeed, a common problem being faced with most of the underdeveloped and the developing countries of the world. It is not only socio-economic but even emotional, cultural and political in nature.
The developments that have been taking place in this land for the past six decades have not been able to wipe out poverty. Poverty has been the root cause of many of the problems.
The problem of poverty is very closely linked up with unemployment. Poverty and unemployment, the twin social problems are found throughout the length and breadth of this land. As GR. Madan points out, “they have been in existence since the dawn of civilization and one method or the other was devised to help the poverty stricken, the dependent and the unemployed.” These two problems are not peculiar to India for they are found in good number of Aisatic and African countries.
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The study of poverty invites invariably a number of questions: What is poverty? What is the extent or magnitude of poverty/What are the causes of poverty? How to measure poverty? What are the social effects of poverty? What are its economic and social dimensions? What are the effective solutions to poverty? etc. We shall try to find some satisfying answers for these questions.
Definition of Poverty
1. Gillin and Gillin:
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“Poverty is that condition in which a person either because of inadequate income or unwise expenditures, does not maintain a scale of living high enough to provide for his physical and mental efficiency and to enable him and his natural dependents to function usefully according to the standards of the society of which he is a member. ”
2. Adam Smith:
A person “… is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessaries, the conveniences and the amusements of life.” – [Adam Smith in his “Wealth of Nations “].
3. Goddard:
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“Poverty is insufficient supply of those things which are requisite for an individual to maintain himself and those dependent upon him in his health and vigour.”
Explanation Poverty in terms of “Poverty Line”:
The first Director General of FAO [Food and Agricultural Organization of the UNO] was the first to explain poverty on the basis of ‘starvation line’ in 1945. According to him, an intake of less than 2300 calories of food per person per day, was considered the line of starvation and this has been transformed into “poverty line”
1. The Indian Planning Commission defined “poverty line” on the basis of nutritional requirements of 2400 calories per person per day for rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day for urban areas.
2. A group of Indian economists consisting of Prof. Gadgil, Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao, Dr. Ganguli,Ashok Mitra and Dr. P.S. Lokanathan worked out the poverty line in their own way. They recommended a standard of private consumption at Rs. 240 per capita per year at 1960-61 prices as the barest minimum.