I came across this report recently from my Kiva network and thought would pass it on to you all if you haven't read it.

A committee headed by an expert economist released the latest statistics on poverty in India. As per the report, 37% of the population of India is under the poverty line. 


Story by: TimesofIndia.com
Date: Dec 15, 2009

NEW DELHI: The Suresh Tendulkar committee report revising upwards poverty estimates across the country may further strain government finances with many of the states already demanding special status to address the issue and an enhanced allocation under many of the pro-poor schemes.

The committee, in its report submitted to the Planning Commission last week, had estimated that 37% of India’s population is under the poverty line, while the proportion of the poor is almost 42% in rural areas — sharp increases from official poverty estimates of 27.5% for all of India and 28.3% for rural areas.

The committee has changed the method of estimating poverty to a broad-based consumption basket that includes education and health.

More than half of the rural population of states like Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are still living under abject poverty, not able to meet their basic necessities of food, health and education, according to the revised estimates of the expert group headed by former chairman of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Suresh Tendulkar. The new figures are not strictly comparable with the earlier estimates, because the Tendulkar panel has significantly changed the method of estimating poverty — from one notionally based on calorific intake to a more broad-based consumption basket that includes education and health.

Nevertheless, the revelation that poverty is higher than it was earlier thought to be may force the government to increase funding for social and rural development schemes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Indira Awas Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, say economists.

Tendulkar himself told TOI that though this was not the mandate of the committee, as an economist he thinks government should put a lot of money into education and health, particularly considering the demographic profile of the country with a predominantly young population.