Extra Questions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge

Class 9 Social Science Economics Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge extra questions and answers available here in PDF format. Solving class 9 extra questions help students to revise the Chapter most competently. We prepared these questions with PDF as per the latest NCERT book and CBSE syllabus. Practising these questions before the exam will ensure excellent marks in the exam.

Class 9 Economics Chapter 3 Extra Questions and Answers

Very Short Answer Questions

1. What is the average number of calories required per person per day in rural areas of India?

Answer: The average number of calories required per person per day in rural areas of India is 2400.

2. When was the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) passed?

Answer: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was passed in September 2005.

3. Which state out of Bihar, Odisha, Punjab and Assam has the highest poverty ratio?

Answer: Odisha has the highest poverty ratio of 47.2%, as per Economic Survey of 2001-02.

4. Which state out of West Bengal Maharashtra, Assam and Uttar Pradesh has a poverty ratio below the national average?

Answer: The national average poverty ratio was 26.1%. Only Maharashtra, out of the given four states, with a poverty ratio of 25%, was better.

5. In what part of the world has poverty remained the same between 1981 to 2001?

Answer: Poverty has remained the same between 1981 to 2001 in Latin America and the Caribbean Nations.

6. Which section of the population is the target for REGP and AAY anti-poverty programmes?

Answer: The target group for REGP is unemployed rural youth and the target group for AAY is the rural and urban poor families.

7. Which section of the population is the target for SGSY and NREGA programmes?

Answer: The target for SGSY is rural poor households and the target for NREGA is rural households.

8. Is it correct that India has the largest concentration of poor in the world?

Answer: Yes, India has about 260 million people who live in poverty, as per an estimate made in the year 1999-2000.

9. Can social exclusion cause poverty in rural areas?

Answer: Yes, social exclusion of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in rural areas is a major cause of their poverty.

10. What do we mean by the term ‘vulnerability to poverty?

Answer: ‘Vulnerability to poverty’ means the chances of some communities or persons to become poor or remain poor in the future.

11. Which agency conducts the periodical sample surveys for estimating the poverty line in India?

Answer: The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) conducts these surveys,

12. Which indicators out of quantity of milk consumed, amount of pocket money received, illiteracy level and the number of shoes people have, are social indicators of poverty?

Answer: Only the illiteracy level. All the others are not social indicators.

13. Which groups out of the categories of landless agricultural labourers, daily wage construction labourers or teachers in government schools are likely to face poverty in urban areas?

Answer: Only the daily wage construction labourers are likely to face poverty in urban areas. Landless agricultural labourers are in rural areas, not in urban. Teachers in government schools are regularly employed and so will not face poverty.

14. Which major anti-poverty programme was launched in the year 2000?

Answer: The Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) programme was launched in 2000.

15. In which year was the National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) launched?

Answer: The National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) was launched in the year 2004.

16. Which method is used to estimate the poverty line in India?

Answer: The daily income and consumption method are used in India to estimate the poverty line.

17. Which region of the world has witnessed an increase in poverty during the period 1981-2001?

Answer: The region of Sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed an increase in poverty from about 41% in 1981 to about 46% in 2001.

18. Which indicators out of illiteracy level, lack of access to healthcare, inadequate safe drinking water and ample job opportunities are not social indicators of poverty?

Answer: Lack of access to healthcare is the only indicator which is not considered as a social indicator of poverty. All other indicators mentioned are social indicators.

19. Which economic groups out of rural agricultural labour households. Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) households, urban casual labour households and female daily wagers are vulnerable to poverty?

Answer: Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) households are a social group, not an economic group. All the other groups mentioned are economic groups which are vulnerable to poverty.

20. Is it true that the state of Kerala has reduced poverty by distribution of foodgrains at highly subsidised prices?

Answer: No, the state or Kerala has used human resource development as a means for reducing poverty.

21. By what method has the state of West Bengal reduced rural poverty?

Answer: Proper implementation of land reforms have helped to reduce rural poverty in West Bengal.

22. Which of the government anti-poverty programmes are not employment or self-employment related?

Answer: Only the AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana) ensures food security to the poorest of the poor by providing food grains at highly subsidised rates. It is not concerned with employment or self-employment.

23. What are the factors of human poverty?

Answer: There are many factors of human poverty like not having job security, discrimination due to caste, having inadequate access to education, shelter or food and so on.

24. Has India the largest single concentration of the poor in the world?

Answer: In India every fourth person is poor. This means roughly 260 million (26 crore) people in India live in poverty. This illustrates the seriousness of the challenge.

25. How is social exclusion practiced in India?

Answer: A typical example is the prevailing caste system in India, whereby which people belonging to certain castes are excluded from equal opportunities.

26. What is ‘poverty line’?

Answer: It is an indicator of poverty, i.e., it is a level of income which barely meets sustenance.

27. When is a person considered poor?

Answer: A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given ‘minimum level’ necessary to fulfill basic needs.

28. What is the accepted average calorie requirement in India?

Answer: The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,100 calories per person per day in urban areas.

29. Why is the calorie requirement of rural areas more than that in urban areas?

Answer: Since people living in rural areas engage themselves in more physical work, calorie requirements in rural areas are considered to be higher than in urban areas.

30. How much amount is needed to fulfill minimum calorie requirement in rural and urban areas?

Answer: On the basis of these calculations, for the year 2000, the poverty line for a person was fixed at `328 per month for the rural areas and ` 54 for the urban areas.

31 How is poverty line estimated periodically?

Answer: The poverty line is estimated periodically (normally every 5 year) by conducting sample surveys. These surveys are carried out by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).

32. Which social groups are most vulnerable to poverty?

Answer: The social groups most vulnerable to poverty are scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

33. Among the economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty?

Answer: Among the economic groups the most vulnerable to poverty are the rural agricultural households and the urban casual labour households.

34. How are women, children and old people the poorest of the poor?

Answer: Women, elderly people and female infants are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family. Therefore, they are the poorest of the poor.

35. Which states of India are the poorest?

Answer: Odisha and Bihar continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 47 and 43 per cent respectively.

36. Which states of India have seen a significant decline in poverty?

Answer: There has been a significant decline in poverty in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal.

37. How have Kerala and West Bengal reduced their poverty?

Answer: Kerala has focused more on human resource development. In West Bengal land reform measures have helped in reducing poverty.

38. How has poverty reduced in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu?

Answer: In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu public distribution of food grains could have been responsible for the improvement in poverty.

39. Which are the two planks on which anti-poverty strategy of the government is based?

Answer: (i) Promotion of economic growth.
(ii) Targeted anti-poverty programmes.

40. What is the full form of MGNREGA?

Answer: MGNREGA is Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005

41. What is Rural Employment Generation Programme?

Answer: Launched in 1995, the aim of the programme is to create self employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns.

42. What are the bigger challenges before India?

Answer: Providing health care, education and job security for all and achieving gender equality and dignity for the poor are the bigger challenges before India.

Short Answer Type Questions

1. How is regular growth of population one of the major causes of poverty?

Answer: High population growth rate increases the rate of depletion of resources. Due to this, pressure on resources increases. More people will be able to avail of a smaller share of resources, thus bringing more people below the poverty line.

2. Why is the calorie requirement of people higher in rural areas compared to urban areas?

Answer: The calorie requirement of people in rural areas is higher because the rural people are engaged in more physical labour than people in urban areas. Physical labour is more energy consuming than mental work.

3. What are the major reasons for ineffectiveness of anti-poverty measures in India?

Answer: The major reasons for ineffectiveness of anti-poverty measures in India are lack of proper implementation of the programmers, overlapping of schemes and lack of right targeting of people.

4. What kind of people in India are considered poor?

Answer: They could be landless labourers in villages or people living in overcrowded jhuggis in cities. They could be daily wage earners at construction sites or child workers in dhabas. They could also be beggars with children in tatters.

5. What are the dimensions of poverty?

Answer: Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter. Poverty means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities. It also means lack of a regular job at a minimum decent level. Above all, it means living with a sense of helplessness.

6. What is one of the biggest challenges of independent India?

Answer: One of the biggest challenges of independent India has been to bring millions of its people out of abject poverty. Mahatma Gandhi always insisted that India would be truly independent only when the poorest of its people become free of human suffering.

7. What are the social indicators of poverty as seen by social scientists?

Answer: Prevalent factors like illiteracy levels, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to health care, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, etc., are the social indicators of poverty as seen by social scientists.

8. What is the concept of social reclusion?

Answer: According to this concept, poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live only in a poor surroundings with other poor people, excluded from enjoying the company of better off people in better surroundings.

9. What is the vulnerability of poverty?

Answer: Vulnerability of poverty is a measure, which describes the greater probability of certain communities or individuals of becoming or remaining poor in the coming years.

10. How vulnerability to poverty is determined?

Answer: Vulnerability is determined by the options available to different communities for finding an alternative living in terms of assets, education, health and job opportunities.

11. How does a country measure its poverty?

Answer: Each country uses an imaginary line that is considered appropriate for its existing level of development and its accepted minimum social norms. For example, a person not having a car in the United States may be considered poor. In India, owning of a car is still considered a luxury.

12. How is poverty line determined in India?

Answer: A minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirement etc. are determined for subsistence. These physical quantities are multiplied by their prices in rupees.

13. How is the food requirement estimated in poverty line?

Answer: The present formula for food requirement while estimating the poverty line is based on the desired calorie requirement; food items such as cereals, pulses, vegetables, milk, oil, sugar, etc. together provide these needed calories.

14. How are China and South Eastern Asian Countries able to control poverty?

Answer: Poverty declined substantially in China and South East Asian countries as a result of rapid economic growth and massive investments in human resource development.

15. What is the historical cause of poverty in India?

Answer: It is the low level of economic development under the British Colonial administration. The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged development of industries like textiles. This resulted in less job opportunities and low growth rate of incomes. This was accompanied by a high growth rate of population.

16. How did unemployment lead to poverty?

Answer: Unable to find proper jobs in cities, many people started working as rickshaw pullers, vendors, construction workers, domestic servants, etc. With irregular small incomes, these people could not afford proper housing and started living in slums leading to poverty.

17. What are the causes of huge income inequalities in rural areas?

Answer: One of the major reasons for this is the unequal distribution of land and other resources. Major policy initiatives like land reforms, which aimed at redistribution of assets in rural areas, have not been implemented properly, leading to poverty in India.

18. What are the socio-cultural and economic factors responsible for poverty?

Answer: In order to fulfill social obligations and observe religious ceremonies, people spend a lot of money. Since poor people hardly have any saving, they borrow. Unable to repay because of poverty they become victims of indebtedness, an important cause of poverty.

19. How is economic growth linked with poverty reduction in India?

Answer: Economic growth widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human development. This also encourages people to send their children, including the girl child, to schools in the hope of getting better economic returns from investing in education.

20. What are the conditions of MGNREGA?

Answer: (i) The Act provides 100 days assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts.
(ii) Under the programme, if an applicant is not provided employment within 15 days, he/she will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.

21. What was the National Food for Work Programme?

Answer: It was launched in 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country. It is a centrally sponsored scheme, in which food grains are provided free of cost to the states. The programme is open to all poor who are in need of wage employment and desire to do manual unskilled work.

22. What does PMRY stand for?

Answer: It stands for Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana, started in 1993. The aim of the programme is to create self employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns.

23. What were the targets of SGSY?

Answer: The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana was launched in 1999. It aims at bringing up the assisted poor families above the poverty line by organizing them into self-help groups through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy.

24. What was PMGY?

Answer: It was Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojna launched in 2000. Accordingly additional central assistance is given to the states for basic services such as primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.

25. What is India’s most compelling challenge?

Answer: India’s most compelling challenge remains the poverty reduction. Wide disparities in poverty are visible between rural and urban areas and among different states.

26. What are the dimensions of poverty?

Answer:(i) Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter.
(ii) It is a situation in which parents are not able to send their children to school or a situation where sick people cannot afford treatment.
(iii) Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.
(iv) It also means lack of a regular job at a minimum decent level.

27. How is poverty viewed by social scientists?

Answer: Since poverty has many facts, social scientists look at it through a variety of indicators. These social indicators are:
(i) Illiteracy level.
(ii) Lack of general resistance due to malnutrition.
(iii) Lack of access to health care.
(iv) Lack of job opportunity.
(v) Lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, etc.

28. What does ‘social exclusion’ mean?

Answer: (i) According to this concept, poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live only in a poor surrounding with other poor people, and excluded from enjoying social equality with better-off people in a better surrounding.
(ii) Social exclusion can be both a cause as well as a consequence of poverty in the rural sense.
(iii) It is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from facilities, benefits and opportunities that others enjoy. An example is the prevalence of the caste system in India in which people belonging to certain castes are excluded from equal opportunities.

29. How is vulnerability to poverty measured?

Answer: (i) Vulnerability to poverty is a measure which describes the greater probability of certain communities or individuals of becoming or remaining poor in the coming years.

(ii) Vulnerability is determined by the options available to different communities for finding an alternative living in terms of assets, education, health and job opportunities.

(iii) Vulnerability describes the greater probability of being more adversely affected than other people when bad times prevails for everybody, whether a flood or an earthquake or simply a shortage in the availability of jobs.

30. What is the trend of poverty estimates since 1973? Or Describe poverty trends in India since 1973.

Answer: (i) There was substantial decline in poverty ratios in India from about 55 per cent in 1973 to 36 per cent in 1993.
(ii) The proportion of people below the poverty line further came down to less than 20 per cent in the next few years.
(iii) Although the percentage of people living under poverty declined, the number of poor remained stable around 320 million for a long time. The latest estimates indicate a significant reduction in the number of poor to about 260 million.

31. How do income inequalities exist within a family?

Answer: (i) In poor families all suffer, but some suffer more than others.
(ii) Women, elderly people and female infants are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family.
(iii) Therefore, women, children and old people are the poorest of the poor

. 32. Which states are most vulnerable to poverty in India?

Answer: (i) The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state.
(ii) Poverty is still existing in Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
(iii) Bihar and Orissa continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 47 and 43 per cent, respectively. Along with rural poverty, urban poverty also exists in these states.

33. Which states report a significant decline in poverty?

Answer: (i) There is significant decline in poverty in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal.
(ii) States like Punjab and Haryana have traditionally succeeded in reducing poverty with the help of high agricultural growth rates.
(iii) Kerala has focused on human resource development.
(iv) In West Bengal, land reform measures have helped in reducing poverty.
(v) In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, public distribution of food grains could have been the cause for the decline in poverty.

34. What are the major reasons for the less effectiveness of poverty alleviation programmes?

Answer: (i) It is due to lack of proper implementation and right targeting.
(ii) There also has been a lot of overlapping of schemes.
(iii) Despite good intentions, the benefits of these schemes have not fully reached the poor.

35. What challenges are ahead of India with respect to poverty alleviation?

Answer: (i) Wide disparities in poverty are visible between rural are urban areas and among different states.
(ii) Certain social and economic groups are more vulnerable to poverty.
(iii) Poverty reduction is expected to make better progress in the next ten to fifteen years.

36. How is poverty reduction expected to be better?

Answer: (i) This would be possible due to higher growth in income.
(ii) Universal free elementary education would make people literate and enable them to earn.
(iii) Increasing empowerment of the women and the economically weaker sections of society.

37. What are the main features of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?

Answer:(i) MGNREGA 2005 was passed in September 2005.
(ii) The act provides 100 days assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts.
(iii) Later, the scheme will be extended to 600 districts. One-third of the jobs could be reserved for women. If government failed to provide employment, the salary for 100 days would be given.

38. Describe the term ‘NFWP’.

Answer: (i) This scheme is known as the National Food for Work Programme, launched in 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country.
(ii) The programme is open to all rural people who are in need of wage employment and desire to do manual unskilled work.
(iii) It is implemented as a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme and food grains are provided free of cost to the states.

39. Give five indicators of poverty.

Answer: (i) Landlessness
(ii) Unemployment
(iii) Illiteracy
(iv) Child labour
(v) Malnutrition.

40. What is the criteria for poverty measurement in India?

Answer: (i) Low level of nutrition
(ii) Minimum level of subsistence does not exist
(iii) Calorie intake is low
(iv) Per capita income is low
(v) Basic needs should be satisfied.

41. Can you give five measures taken by the government to alleviate poverty?

Answer: (i) MGNREGA
(ii) Food for Work Programme
(iii) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana
(iv) Pradhanmantri Gramodaya Yojana
(v) Antodaya Anna Yojana.

42. What challenges do you think India faces in years to come?

Answer: (i) Healthcare
(ii) Job security
(iii) Gender discrimination
(iv) Human misery
(v) Education.

43. Describe the poverty trends in India since 1973.

Answer: The trends in poverty since 1973 are (i) There is substantial decline in poverty ratio from 55% in 1973 to 36% in 1993 and 26% in 2000. (ii) Rural poverty has declined sharply from 56% in 1973 to 27% in 2000 and the numbers from 261 million to 193 million. (iii) The latest estimates indicate a significant reduction in the total urban and rural number of poor to be about 260 million, down from 321 million in 1973.

44. What do you understand by human poverty?

Answer: Human poverty is a concept that goes beyond the limited view of poverty as lack of income. It refers to the denial of political, social and economic opportunities to an individual to maintain a ‘reasonable’ standard of living. Illiteracy, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to proper healthcare and sanitation, caste and gender discrimination etc are all components of human poverty.

45. Give a brief description of the global poverty trends.

Answer: Proportion of people living in developing countries in extreme economic poverty has fallen from 28% in 1990 to 21% in 2001. But it is marked with regional differences in decline in poverty e.g., China. Poverty has decreased in percentage but the number of poor continues to be almost the same. In Sub-Saharan Africa poverty rose form 41% in 1981 to 46% in 2001.

46. Give an account of inter-state disparities in poverty in India. Or Explain briefly inter-state disparities of poverty in India. Or Give a brief account of inter-state disparities of poverty in India.

Answer: According to the concept of social exclusion, poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live only in poor surroundings with other poor people, excluded from enjoying social equality with better-off people in better surroundings. It is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from facilities, benefits and opportunities that others enjoy. Its typical example is the working of caste system in India. In this system, people from certain castes are excluded from equal opportunities.

47. What do you think would be the ‘minimum necessary level’ in your locality?

Answer: I live in a city so the poverty line should be calculated according to the urban area. In the year 2000, the urban poverty line was fixed at Rs. 454 per month per person. Now in the year 2012 seeing the high level of inflation and price rise it should be at least Rs. 1500 per person per month.

Long Answer Type questions

1. What is the status of poverty in scheduled caste, or scheduled tribe?

Answer: (i) 50 per cent of casual workers in urban areas are below poverty line. About 50 per cent of landless agricultural workers and 43 per cent of scheduled caste are also poor. (ii) The double disadvantage of being a landless casual wage labour household in the socially disadvantaged social groups of the scheduled caste or the scheduled tribe population highlights the seriousness of the problem.
(iii) Some recent studies have shown that except for scheduled tribe households all the other three groups that is, scheduled caste, rural agricultural labour and the urban casual labour have seen a decline in poverty.

2. How is the poverty line determined? Or Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India.

Answer: (i) In India, a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirement, etc., are determined for subsistence.
(ii) These things are multiplied by their prices in rupees.
(iii) The desired calorie requirements are seen depending on age, sex and the type of work that a person does.
(iv) The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,100 calories per person per year in urban areas.
(v) Since people living in rural areas are considered to be higher than urban areas.
(vi) The monetary expenditure per capita needed for buying these calorie requirements is revised time to time, keeping in mind the rise in prices.
(vii) On the basis of these calculations, for the year 2000, the poverty line for a person was fixed at ` 328 per month for the rural areas and ` 454 for the urban areas.

3. Which groups are most vulnerable to poverty? Or Identify social and economic groups are most vulnerable to poverty in India.

Answer: (i) The social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
(ii) Among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural agricultural labour households and the urban casual labourers.
(iii) About 51 out of 100 people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes are not able to meet their basic needs.
(iv) Similarly, 50 per cent of the casual workers in urban areas are below the poverty line.

4. What is the global poverty scenario?

Answer: Although there has been a substantial reduction in global poverty, it is marked with great regional differences.
(i) Poverty declined substantially in China and south-east Asian colonies as a result of rapid economic growth and massive investment in human resource development.
(ii) In the south Asian countries, the decline has not been as rapid. Despite decline in the percentage of poor, the number of poor has declined from 475 million in 1981 to 428 million in 2001.
(iii) In Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty in fact rose from 41 per cent in 1981 to 46 per cent in 2001.
(iv) In Latin America, the ratio of poverty remained the same.
(v) Poverty has also resurfaced in some of the former socialist countries like Russia.

5. What are the main causes of poverty? Or Describe the major reasons for poverty in India.

Answer: The main causes of widespread poverty are:
(i) The low level of economic development under the British colonial administration was one of the main causes of poverty. The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged the development of industries like textiles.
(ii) High growth rate of population also contributed towards rise in poverty levels. It made the growth rate of per capita income very low.
(iii) With the growth in irrigation and the Green Revolution, many job opportunities were created in the agricultural sector. But the effects were limited to some parts of India.
(iv) Unable to find proper jobs in cities, many people started working as rickshaw pullers, vendors, construction workers, domestic servants, etc., with irregular and small income. These people lived in slums on the outskirts of the cities.

6. What is the current anti-poverty strategy of the government for the promotion of economic growth?

Answer: (i) Over a period of thirty years lasting up to the early eighties, there was little per capita income growth and not much reduction in poverty.
(ii) Since the eighties, India’s economic growth has been one of the fastest in the world. (iii) The growth rate jumped from an average of about 3.5 per cent a year in the 1970s to about 6 per cent.
(iv) Higher growth rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty. So, there is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction. However, the poor may not be able to take direct advantage from the opportunities created by economic growth.

7. Mention some anti-poverty programmes undertaken by the government.

Answer: (i) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed in September 2005. The act provides 100 days assured employment every year, to every rural household, in 200 districts.
(ii) The central government will also establish National Employment Guarantee Funds. Similarly, state governments will establish State Employment Guarantee Funds for implementation of the scheme.
(iii) Under the programme, if an applicant is not provided employment within 15 days he or she will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.
(iv) Another scheme is the National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) which was launched in 2004, in 150 most backward districts of the country. The programme is open to all rural people who are in need of wage employment and desire to do manual unskilled work. Under this scheme, food grains are provided free of cost to the states.

8. State the various Poverty Alleviation Programmes introduced by the government to remove poverty.

(ii) Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP): It was launched in 1995. The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns. A target for creating 25 lakh new jobs has been set for the programme.

(iii) Swamajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY): It was launched in 1999. The programme aims at bringing the assisted poor families above the poverty line by organising them into self-help groups through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy.

(iv) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY): It was launched in 2000. Under this programme, additional Central assistance is given to states for basic services such as primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.

9. What is the concept of poverty line? How does it vary with time and place?

Answer: (i) A poverty line is an indicator of poverty, i.e., it is a level of income which barely meets sustenance. A common method used to measure poverty is based on the income or consumption level.
(ii) A person is considered poor, if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given ‘minimum level’ necessary to fulfil basic needs.
(iii) What is necessary to satisfy basic needs is different at different times and in different countries.
(iv) Therefore, poverty line may vary with time and place. Each country uses an imaginary line that is considered appropriate for its existing level of development and its accepted minimum social norms.
(v) For example, a person not having a car in the US may be considered poor. In India, owing of a car is still considered a luxury.

10. What is the methodology of calculating poverty line?

Answer: (i) On the basis of calorie intake for the year 2000, the poverty line for a person was fixed at 328 per month for the rural areas and 454 for the urban areas.
(ii) Despite less calorie requirement, the higher amount for urban areas has been fixed because of high prices of many essential products in urban centres.
(iii) In this way in the year 2000, a family of five members living in rural areas and earning less than about 1,640 per month was below the poverty line.
(iv) A similar family in the urban areas needed a minimum of `2,270 per month to meet their basic requirements.
(v) The poverty line is estimated periodically by conducting sample surveys. Many international organisations like the World Bank use a uniform standard for the poverty line.

11. How is the poverty line determined? Or Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India.

12. Which groups are most vulnerable to poverty? Or Identify social and economic groups are most vulnerable to poverty in India.

13. What is the global poverty scenario?

Answer: Although there has been a substantial reduction in global poverty, it is marked with great regional differences.
(i) Poverty declined substantially in China and south-east Asian colonies as a result of rapid economic growth and massive investment in human resource development.
(ii) In the south Asian countries, the decline has not been as rapid. Despite decline in the percentage of poor, the number of poor has declined from 475 million in 1981 to 428 million in 2001.
(iii) In Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty in fact rose from 41 per cent in 1981 to 46 per cent in 2001. (iv) In Latin America, the ratio of poverty remained the same.
(v) Poverty has also resurfaced in some of the former socialist countries like Russia.

14. What are the main causes of poverty? Or Describe the major reasons for poverty in India.

15. What is the current anti-poverty strategy of the government for the promotion of economic growth?

16. Mention some anti-poverty programmes undertaken by the government.

17. State the various Poverty Alleviation Programmes introduced by the government to remove poverty.

Answer: (i) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY): It is a scheme started in 1993. The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns. They are helped in setting up small businesses and industries.
(ii) Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP): It was launched in 1995. The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns. A target for creating 25 lakh new jobs has been set for the programme.
(iii) Swamajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY): It was launched in 1999. The programme aims at bringing the assisted poor families above the poverty line by organising them into self-help groups through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy.
(iv) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY): It was launched in 2000. Under this programme, additional Central assistance is given to states for basic services such as primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.

18. What is the concept of poverty line? How does it vary with time and place?

19. What is the methodology of calculating poverty line?

Answer: (i) On the basis of calorie intake for the year 2000, the poverty line for a person was fixed at ` 328 per month for the rural areas and ` 454 for the urban areas.
(ii) Despite less calorie requirement, the higher amount for urban areas has been fixed because of high prices of many essential products in urban centres.
(iii) In this way in the year 2000, a family of five members living in rural areas and earning less than about 1,640 per month was below the poverty line.
(iv) A similar family in the urban areas needed a minimum of `2,270 per month to meet their basic requirements.
(v) The poverty line is estimated periodically by conducting sample surveys. Many international organisations like the World Bank use a uniform standard for the poverty line.

20. Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India. Or Explain some ways by which the poverty line is estimated in India.

Answer: A person is considered below the poverty line if his / her income or consumption level falls below a ‘minimum level’ necessary to fulfil basic needs. While determining the poverty line, a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel, light, educational and medical requirements, etc are determined for subsistence. Estimating the poverty line is also based on the desired calories requirement. It is 2400 calories per person per day in the rural areas and 2100 calories in the urban areas.

21. Mention the social and economic groups which are more vulnerable to poverty in India. Or Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty in India.

Answer: The social groups are the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes households. The Scheduled Castes are not allowed to avail the facilities given to others due to the prevailing caste system, leading to poverty. The economic groups are the rural agricultural labour and the urban casual labour households. The rural agricultural labour have no land of their own and are thus not able to earn enough to meet their daily needs, leading to poverty.

22. Explain colonial rule and income inequalities as causes of poverty.

Answer: One of the historical reasons for poverty is the low level of economic development under the British Colonial Administration. The policies of the Colonial Government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged development of industries like textiles. Income inequalities have resulted from non-availability of land to rural landless labourers. Thus they are forced to work for low wages for the large farmers, causing poverty to them, as they are not able to meet their daily needs with their meagre earnings.

23. (a) Mention the two planks on which the current anti-poverty strategy of the government is based. (b) Why were the poverty alleviation programmes not successful in most parts of India?

Answer: (a) The two planks on which the current anti-poverty strategy of the government is based are (i) Promotion of economic growth (ii) Targeted anti-poverty programmes (b) The poverty alleviation programmes were not successful in most parts of India because (i) Lack of proper implementation and right targeting (ii) There has been a lot of overlapping of schemes. (iii) Every year a huge number is added to the population pool of the country. This renders the scheme ineffective (iv) Despite good intentions, the benefits of these schemes do not fully reach to the deserving poor.

24. State the most responsible factor for the significant decline in poverty in the State of Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Answer: Following are the factor that helped Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal in reducing poverty (i) Haryana It has succeeded in reducing poverty with the help of high agricultural growth rates. In fact, it is one of the Indian states that benefited the most from the Green Revolution. (ii) Kerala It succeeded in reducing poverty by investing on human resource development. Kerala is one of the highest literate states of the country. (iii) West Bengal In West Bengal, land reform measures have helped in reducing poverty.

25. Describe one factor each for the success of Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal in reducing poverty.

Answer: Poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live only in a poor surrounding with other poor people, excluded from enjoying social equality of better off people in better surroundings. Social exclusion can be both a cause as well as a consequence of poverty in the usual sense. Broadly, it is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from facilities, benefits and opportunities that others (their “betters”) enjoy. A typical example is the working of the caste system in India in which people belonging to certain castes are excluded from equal opportunities. Social exclusion thus may lead to, but can cause more damage than, having a very low income.

26. How far is it correct to say that social exclusion can be both a cause as well as a consequence of poverty? Explain

Answer: Poor people have to go through various human sufferings. No body would like to live in poverty. So, for the following reasons we can say poverty is curse on humanity (i) It leads to hunger and lack of shelter. They live in unhygienic conditions and invite host of diseases. (ii) They lack medical facilities and die of diseases in want of timely and proper treatment. (iii) Poor people are in a situation in which they are ill-treated at almost all places. Each time they are left with scars on their spirit of self-respect. (iv) They live with the sense of helplessness. (v) Poor parents are not able to send their children to school. This leaves them un awakened and unaware. (vi) The children of poor people have to earn their livelihood, even then they are not able to get their two square meals.

27. “Poverty is a curse upon humanity”. Explain.

Answer: (a) To satisfy basic needs is different at different times and in different countries. Each country uses an imaginary line that is considered appropriate for its existing level of development and its accepted minimum social norms.

(b) The two common methods to measure poverty lines are:

(i) Consumption method Determining the poverty line in India is based on the desired calorie requirement. The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in urban areas.

(ii) Income method For the year 2000, the poverty line for a person was fixed at 328 per month for the rural areas and 454 for the urban areas.

28. What is poverty line? What are the different ways to estimate poverty? Who conducts the sample surveys to estimate poverty lines?

Answer: Proportion of poor not being the same in every state has the following reasons
(i) The success of reducing poverty varies from state to state.
(ii) 20 states have poverty ratio less than national average.
(iii) Odisha and Bihar continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 47 and 43% respectively.
(iv) There is significant decline in poverty in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and some other states.
(v) With the help of high agricultural growth rates, states like Punjab and Haryana have succeeded in reducing poverty to a large extent.
(vi) Proper organisation of Public Distribution System in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu has also helped to take the problem of poverty.

29. “The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state” Justify the statement. Or Why is the population of poor people not the same in every state? Explain in three points.

Answer: Proportion of poor people is not same in every state in India. The following facts disclose about the inter-state disparity of poverty in India.

(i) The success rate of reducing poverty varies from state to state. Poverty is still a serious problem in some of the states such as Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, etc.

(ii) In 20 states and Union Territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average. There is a significant decline of poverty in Kerala and s Jammu and Kashmir.

(iii) Odisha and Bihar continue to be the two poorest stares with poverty ratio of 47% and 43% respectively. Illiteracy, social backwardness, etc are the causes.

(iv) Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab have the lowest poverty ratio of 3.5% and 6% respectively. This is because of high agricultural growth and growth of tourism industry in the states.

30. The Government of India has initiated many poverty alleviation programmes. Below are given some such programmes (a) PMRY (b) REGP (c) SGSY (d) PMGY (e) NFWP (f) NREGA (g)AAY. In your view, which one is the central feature of each of these programmes?

Answer: There has been substantial reduction in global poverty, but there are regional disparities described below
(i) Poverty declined in China and South-East Asian countries as a result of rapid economic growth and huge investments in the development of human resources.
(ii) In Latin America and the Caribbean, the ratio of poverty remained almost the same.
(iii) In Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty saw an upward trend due to successive droughts. It rose from 41% in 1981 to 46% in 2001.
(iv) Poverty has again surfaced in some of the former socialist countries like Russia, where formerly it was non-existent.

31. Describe global poverty trends.

Answer: The four anti-poverty programmes are (i) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) 2005, which provides 100 days assured employment per year to rural households in 200 districts initially.
(ii) National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) 2004 was launched in 150 most backward districts of the country. It is open to all rural poor who are in need of wage employment.
(iii) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) 1993 and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) 1995 were started to create self-employment opportunities for educated youth in rural areas and small towns.
(iv) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) 1999 aims at bringing the poor families above poverty line by organizing them into self help groups through bank credit and government subsidy.

32. Explain four important anti-poverty measures undertaken by the Government of India. Or Write a note on any four programmes that have been developed for the eradication of poverty in India.

Answer: Three features of NREGA are:
(i) It guarantees 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. One-third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for women.
(ii) The scheme will initially be started in 200 districts. Later on, the scheme will be extended to 600 districts.
(iii) If an applicant is not provided employment within fifteen days, she/he will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.

33. Mention any three features of the NREGA, 2005. Or What are the main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?

Answer: The following issues, I will suggest regarding poverty alleviation
(i) Stop social exclusion
(ii) Increase literacy level
(iii) Focus on healthcare
(iv) Provide sufficient drinking water
(v) Provide employment opportunities
(vi) Focus on sanitation

34. “In India majority of population lives below poverty lines. Government is taking pain to lessen poverty”. Your are the member of the commission appointed to suggest the – areas/issues concerned. Which issues would you suggest regarding poverty alleviation?

Answer: Causes of poverty in India are
(i) Low Level of Economic Development under the British Colonial Administration The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged development of industries like textiles.
(ii) Low Rate of India’s Economic Growth after Independence This resulted in less job opportunities and low growth rates of incomes, accompanied by a high growth rate of population, increasing poverty.
(iii) Lack of Land Resources Land reforms aimed at redistribution of assets in rural areas have not been implemented effectively.
(iv) Backwardness in Agriculture People mostly use old and traditional methods of farming. This requires much labour and time. Effects of irrigation and the Green Revolution were limited to only some parts of India.

35. Explain any four important causes of poverty in India. Or Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.

Answer: Economic growth has been slow in India in the past due to the industrialization rate being low and thus not generating enough jobs for the increasing population. Simultaneously, there is a migration of people from villages to towns in search of jobs, thus increasing poverty in urban areas, as these migrants are forced to work on casual basis on low wages. In the rural areas, there is unequal distribution of land, a high level of indebtedness and many social obligations, which further create poverty. Thus, the cycle of poverty is self-perpetuating.

36. “The failure on both the fronts, promotion of economic growth and population control, perpetuated the cycle of poverty” Comment on this statement.

Answer: A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given ‘minimum level’ necessary to fulfil basic needs. This minimum level is considered as the poverty line. The poverty line fixed for the rural and urban areas in India according in the year 2000 was 328 and 454 per person per month respectively. It is higher in urban areas because of high prices of many essential commodities in urban areas. The accepted average of calories requirement in India is 2400 calories per person-per day in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas. It is high in the rural areas because of more physical work done by the rural people.

37. What is poverty line? What are the calories and rupees fixed for rural and urban areas for measuring the poverty line?

Answer: Following are the features of global poverty scenario
(i) The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty defined by the World Bank as living of less than $1 per day has fallen from 28% in 1990 to 21 percent in 2001.
(ii) Poverty declined substantially in China and South-East Asian countries as a result of rapid economic growth and massive investment in human resource development.
(iii) In the countries of South Asia, the decline has not been as rapid.
(iv) In Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty in fact rose from 41% in 1981 to 46% in 2001.
(v) In Latin America, the ratio of poverty remained the same.
(vi) Poverty has also resurfaced in some of the former socialist countries like Russia, where officially it was non-existent earlier

38. Describe the global poverty scenario as studied by the World Bank. Or Explain any five features of the global poverty scenario. Or Describe three distinct features of global poverty scenario.

Answer: The higher growth rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty. In the 1980s, India’s economic growth was one of the fastest in the world. The growth rate rose from the average of about 3.5% a year in the 1970s to about to 6 % during the 1980s and 1990s. The higher growth rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty. Therefore it is becoming clear that there is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction. Economic growth widens opportunities an” provides the resources needed to invest in human development. This also encourages people send their children, including girls, to schools the hope of getting better economic returns from investing in education.

39. “There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction.” Explain the statement. Or Do you think economic growth is linked with the reduction of poverty? Give any three arguments in support of your answer.

Answer: To estimate the poverty line in India following points can be considered
(i) A Common method used to measure poverty is based on income and consumption levels.
(ii) A minimum level of food requirement and other basic needs such as clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirements, etc. are determined for subsistence.
(iii) These are then calculated in terms of money required to consume them by multiplying physical quantities by their prices in rupees.
(iv) Such a consumption expenditure determines the poverty line. For the year 2000, the poverty line for a person was fixed at 328 per month in rural areas and 454 for the urban areas.

40. How is the poverty line in India determined? Explain the methods. Or Explain how the poverty line is determined in India? Mention any two determinants.

Answer: The most vulnerable groups as far as poverty is concerned are
(i) Poor people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
(ii) Agricultural labour households in rural areas and casual labour households in urban areas.
(iii) The aged, women, female children and the physically and mentally challenged persons. West Bengal has reduced poverty by better implementation of land reform measures. Tamil Nadu has tackled poverty by having an effective Public Distribution System for subsidised food grains to the poor. Punjab has reduced poverty by high agricultural growth due to the Green Revolution.

41. Who are the most vulnerable as far as poverty is concerned? How have the states of West Bengal, Punjab and Tamil Nadu tackled poverty?

Answer: By the measures given below, poverty can be reduced in future in India
(i) Attaining sustainable higher economic growth rate.
(ii) By increasing stress on universal free and essential primary education.
(iii) By providing sufficient medical facilities even in the rural areas so that the population growth rate could be minimised.
(iv) By focusing on empowerment of the women and economically weaker sections of the society.

42. How can poverty be reduced in future in India? Suggest any four points.

Answer: Following indicators are used by social scientists to look at poverty
(i) Illiteracy level It is a situation where parents are unable to send their children to school.
(ii) Lack of access to healthcare It is a situation in which sick people cannot afford treatment.
(iii) Lack of access to drinking water It means lack of safe and clean drinking water facilities.
(iv) Lack of job opportunity It means no availability of regular job opportunity.
(v) Lack of general resistance It means lack of general resistance due to malnutrition.
(vi) Lack of sanitation It means cleaning of our surrounding.

43. How is poverty interpreted by the social scientists? Explain. Or “Since poverty has many facets, social scientists look at it through a variety of indicators.” In the light of this statement mention any three indicators.

Answer: (a) A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given ‘minimum level’ necessary to fulfil basic needs. This minimum level is considered as a poverty line. It is different at different times and in different countries.

(b) The poverty line fixed for the rural and urban areas in India according to 2000 Census was 328 and 454 per person per month respectively. It is higher in urban areas because of high prices of many essential products in urban areas. The accepted average of calories requirement in India is 2400 calories per person per day in the rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in the urban areas. It is high in the rural areas because of more physical work by the rural people.

44. (a) What is poverty line? (b) What are the calories and rupees fixed for rural and urban areas of measuring poverty line? Or Define the term poor and what is accepted average calories requirement in India for rural and urban areas.

Answer: (a) A person is considered poor if his/her income or consumption level falls below a given ‘minimum level’ necessary to fulfil some basic needs. As per year2000, persons earning less than 1640/month in the rural area and less than 2270/ month in the urban areas are considered poor. Persons getting less than 2400 calories/day in the rural areas and less than 2100 calories/day in the urban areas are considered poor. (b) Social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes households. They are mostly illiterate, unaware, landless, jobless, prone to diseases, etc. Among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups include the rural agricultural households and the urban casual labour household. It is so due to seasonal nature of job, minimum wages, exploitation by the employer, etc.

45. (a) Who are considered poor? (b) Explain and identify the economic and social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty.

Answer: (a) Following are the social and economic groups more vulnerable to poverty in India.
(i) Poor people of Scheduled Castes.
(ii) Poor people of Scheduled Tribes.
(iii) Agricultural labourers and casual labourers.
(iv) Backward class people, over aged, women, children, physically and mentally challenged people.

(b) Following are the reasons of poverty in such communities

(i) In India caste system has many ill effects. In this system people from such communities are excluded from equal opportunities and facilities that others enjoy.

(ii) Illiteracy is one of the causes. They are mostly illiterate. When they migrate to the towns, they work in factories, at the shops, etc. The factory owners and shopkeepers exploit them.

(iii) They (SCs, STs) are usually landless. They work as labourers in the field. They are not paid enough. (iv) They celebrate festivals and do other social activities. For this, they take money from moneylenders. Moneylenders exploit them and they become victim of indebtedness.

46. Describe any two important poverty alleviation programmes currently being implemented in India. Or Explain any five anti-poverty measures taken up by the government of India.

Answer: (a) The issues to be tackled which can help in poverty alleviation are
(i) Provide employment opportunities for all levels of people.
(ii) Improve the literacy level of people.
(iii) Improve delivery of healthcare, improve sanitation and arrange provision of sufficient clean drinking water.
(iv) Stop social exclusion of the economically and socially weaker sections.

(b) From the above statements I have learnt, that poverty is the major problem of our country and eradication of poverty is the main target of the government.

47. Describe current government strategy of poverty alleviation.

Answer: (a) We should focus on the following issues
(i) Lesser members in the family will mean reduced expenditure and thus better care of the family members.
(ii) A small family leads to a more peaceful life with reduced worries.
(iii) Lesser children will improve the mother’s health, leading to a better quality of life. The children can be better educated with the same means at the family’s disposal.
(iv) A small family will be able to better care for the old people in the family.
(b) From the given question I have learnt the value of awareness and devotion to family. Responsibility g towards Nation, by being a part of team to spread awareness about ill effects of population increase.

48. Why do different countries use different poverty lines?

Answer: Different countries use different poverty lines because
(i) The calorie requirement of different human races is different depending on their physical condition and dietary habits. Those races which have greater height and build require higher calories.
(ii) The per capita income in different countries is also different i.e., per capita income is higher in developed countries as compared to developing countries.
(iii) The standard of living of Western countries is higher than that of developing countries.
(iv) The cost of essential items used in calculating poverty line is higher in the developed countries.

49. Do you think the present methodology of poverty estimation is appropriate?

Answer: No, the present methodology of poverty estimation is in appropriate because it takes into account only the basic needs of food, clothing, fuel, etc. But the quality of these basic necessities is the lowest quality available, which is not appropriate,

(i) The amount which is fixed as the poverty line does not include the margin for price fluctuations and price rise which is constantly occurring.

(ii) The poverty line should include some correction for inflation and to take care of the market fluctuations.