The poverty line figures given by the Planning Commission for 2009-10 have drawn strong criticism of foul play from politicians, social activists and some economists. Is the current poverty line justified? Why are there so many conflicting opinions? To understand this complex issue in simple terms,Indivjal Dhasmana interviewed Pronab Sen, principal advisor to the Planning Commission and former chief statistician. Edited excerpts: There is so much confusion around the poverty line....

U.N. report says China, India together will account for about third of the increase in urban population in coming decades   India will witness the largest increase in urban population in the next four decades followed by China, a United Nations report has said. India will add another 497 million to its urban population between 2010 and 2050, while China will see 341 million people shifting into cities, followed by Nigeria (200 million),...

-Economic and Political Weekly Yojana Bhavan never seems to know how to count India’s poor That the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government can on occasion after occasion mishandle a situation and also show insensitivity has been in evidence once again in its handling of the poverty figures estimated from the 66th (2009-10) round of the National Sample Survey (NSS). Although the Planning Commission’s estimates, as measured by the Tendulkar methodology, declined sharply...

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned India that feminization of its ageing population could lead to a rapid increase in its number of widows. Reacting to a TOI story that showed how the majority of India's elderly are now women, WHO's representative to India Dr Nata Menabde said the trend has significant consequences for the health of older women. She said, "Women's longer life-spans compared to men, combined with the...

The great poverty debate has been re-ignited, pitting liberal, pro-market economists against left-of-centre economists of the JNU genre. Is the Tendulkar Committee's poverty line - expenditure of 32 a day in urban areas and 26 in rural areas -an affront to the poor, an estimate that could only have been made by a committee whose members had never known a day's poverty themselves? Or is it a realistic estimate of what...