But will it reflect true level of poverty in the country? India's poverty line has hit the headlines again. In the past six months this is for the second time that the government has tried to bring out a poverty line. Like the poverty line in September last year, the new poverty line has also triggered widespread dissent and debate. In an action replay, this time also the government almost junked...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Plan panel sticks to figures, says poverty came down 7.3% in 10 years
-The Times of India Even as the opposition accused the government of tampering with poverty figures, Planning Commission stuck to its stand that poverty had declined by 7.3% between 2004-05 and 2009-10, a period when the Congress-led UPA has been in power. "You can put whatever poverty line you want, the fact is... the decline in poverty is twice the decline in the previous 11 years," Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh...
More »Problems with the Food Bill by Arvind Panagariya
While some may view the food security Bill as the instrument of combating poverty, this distinction belongs to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the flagship anti-poverty programme of the United Progressive Alliance government. The proponents of the food security Bill at the National Advisory Council have promoted it as the instrument of fighting widespread and rising hunger, instead. But what is the empirical basis of the claims of widespread and...
More »1 in 2 farmer households in debt: Study by B Sivakumar
A National Sample Survey Organisation ( NSSO) study found that nearly half of the country's farmer households are in debt. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are the top three states recording highest percentage of farmers in debt. Of the 89.35 million farmer households in the country, 43.42 million are unable to come out of the debt trap, the report said. AP tops the chart with 82% of farmers in debt,...
More »The workforce misses the boat
-Live Mint Recent reports of the employment and unemployment surveys of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) have confirmed the fear of jobless growth during 2004-2010. This data has led to much debate, but the overwhelming consensus remains that the recent period of high gross domestic product (GDP) growth has not benefited the majority of workers. Although the debate is yet to settle, there have been arguments for looking at the data closely....
More »