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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Better policies, not another committee, is the answer to poverty

Better policies, not another committee, is the answer to poverty

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published Published on Mar 27, 2012   modified Modified on Mar 27, 2012
-The Economic Times

Any estimate of poverty, more correctly of the poverty line that determines how many Indians live in poverty, is bound to be contentious. It is naive to believe that any estimate, whatever its methodology, will find unanimous acceptance. 

Hence the decision to appoint yet another technical committee to estimate the poverty line will not achieve anything. It will merely buy the government time and deflect some of the criticism over its tacit acceptance of the Tendulkar Committee's poverty line: expenditure of Rs 32 a day in urban areas and Rs 26 in rural areas. 

Yes, we need to get as precise an estimate of the poverty line as possible. Not only because we need to know whether the fruits of growth are being equitably distributed and seek corrective measures if they are not, but also because entitlements - whether to food, health or education - are usually linked to poverty, and few of our programmes have an in-built mechanism of self-selection like the NREGA. So, the need for a scientific estimation of numbers is indisputable. 

But as Martin Ravallion, noted expert on poverty estimation, points out, while the poverty line is the amount of money an individual needs to achieve the minimum level of 'welfare' not to be deemed 'poor', whether the concept of welfare should anchor the poverty line is itself open to interpretation. Arun Maira, member of the Planning Commission, put it well, 

"The definition of who is poor and who deserves to get assistance is ultimately a political decision." Hence, no estimate will ever be free of controversy. Having said that, there is no disputing that for a country aspiring to be an economic powerhouse we have an unconscionably large number of poor. We need to lift them out of poverty, through faster and more equitable growth in the medium term and through better delivery of essential public services in the short term. 

This is what we need to focus on, rather than nitpick over exact numbers and fall into the familiar trap of arguing over the best methodology to get a 'precise' measurement. As Ross Perot famously remarked, "If you see a snake, just kill it, don't appoint a committee on snakes." Likewise, when you see poverty, tackle it; don't appoint another panel!

The Economic Times, 27 March, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/better-policies-not-another-committee-is-the-answer-to-poverty/articleshow/12421794.cms


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