Mains Practice Questions

Approach:

• Introduce the answer by briefing about poverty in India and key deprivation factors
• Delve into Poverty Alleviation Strategies in India: From Median to Margins
• Highlight Current Faces of Deprivation in India
• Give Policy Recommendations to Address Poverty from the Margins
• Conclude with a quote.

Introduction

India has made commendable progress in poverty reduction, with MPI falling from 29.17% in 2013–14 to 11.28% in 2022–23. Yet, with 129 million people still living under $2.15/day, deprivation remains multidimensional—spanning nutrition, sanitation, education, and livelihood insecurity—necessitating a further policy shift from the median (the average income group benefiting from growth) to the margins (the ultra-poor and most excluded), where vulnerability is deepest.

Body:

Poverty Alleviation Strategies in India: From Median to Margins

• Traditional Approach: Median-Centric
  • Calorie-based poverty lines (Dandekar-Rath, 1971; Lakdawala, 1993).
  • Tendulkar Committee (2009) introduced a broader consumption basket.
  • These approaches, while useful, failed to capture multidimensional deprivation.
• Current Paradigm: Margins-Focused
  • Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) includes health, education, and living standards.
  • India’s adoption of Graduation Approach (BRAC model) for poverty alleviation:
    • Combines livelihood support, financial inclusion, and social protection.
    • Focuses on sustainable poverty exits rather than short-term relief

Current Faces of Deprivation in India:

• Income and Wealth Inequality: Top 10% hold 57% of national income, bottom 50% hold just 13% (World Inequality Report, 2022).
  • Growth has disproportionately benefited the upper echelons.
• Informal Sector Vulnerability: Over 80% of workers are in the informal sector, lacking job security and social benefits.
  • Urban unemployment rates remain high at 8.9%(CMIE, 2024).
• Rural-Agricultural Distress: Agriculture employs 46% of the workforce but contributes only 18% to GDP.
  • More than 80% of farmers are small and marginal; their incomes are vulnerable to price shocks and climate change.
• Health and Educational Deprivations: Out-of-pocket expenditure is 58.7% of total health spending.
  • 56.1% of Indian children suffer from learning poverty (World Bank, pre-pandemic), 80% of rural Grade 3 children can’t read a Grade 2 text (ASER 2022).
• Climate Vulnerability: Climate change disproportionately impacts agriculture, fishing, and livelihoods of the poor.
  • Events like Cyclone Amphan (2020) displaced 2.4 million, mostly from poor communities.

Policy Recommendations to Address Poverty from the Margins

• Strengthening Social Safety Nets: Expanding the coverage and efficiency of DBTs, Ayushman Bharat, and PM-KISAN can improve the resilience of the ultra-poor.
• Livelihood Diversification in Rural Areas: Strengthening MGNREGA with skill-based and asset-building activities can promote sustainable livelihoods.
  • Integrating schemes like Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme under DAY-NRLM can support rural entrepreneurship and reduce dependence on agriculture.
• Skilling and Employment Generation: Revamping Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) with localized, industry-aligned training will improve employment outcomes for the marginalized.
  • Partnerships with private enterprises and MSMEs can create demand-driven jobs, especially in backward regions.
• Empowerment of Women and Marginalised Groups: Scaling Self Help Groups coverage and improving credit access through Stand-Up India can enable women-led enterprises.
  • Implementing gender budgeting and land rights reforms can ensure institutional support for vulnerable communities.
• Nutrition and Basic Services Access: Strengthening Poshan Abhiyan and the PDS with fortified food will reduce malnutrition in high-burden districts.
• Climate-Resilient Development: Expanding PM Fasal Bima Yojana and incentivising solar irrigation through PM-KUSUM will safeguard farmer incomes.
  • Jal Shakti Abhiyan must be scaled in drought-prone areas to enhance water security and reduce rural distress.
• Digital and Infrastructure Inclusion: Accelerating BharatNet implementation and rural digital literacy campaigns can bridge the digital divide.
  • Platforms like e-Shram can link informal workers to benefits, financial tools, and employment opportunities.
• Region-Specific Poverty Strategies: A one-size-fits-all approach to poverty alleviation often fails to address the unique socio-economic and geographic challenges of different regions. Therefore, context-specific interventions are essential to ensure inclusive and effective outcomes.
  • Tailored interventions under the Aspirational Districts Programme can address local development gaps.
  • Flood-prone states need resilient infrastructure, while tribal regions require investments in health, education, and land rights.

Conclusion:

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The true measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members.” To build an inclusive and just society, India must design from the margins—ensuring that every citizen, no matter how vulnerable, becomes a participant in the development process.