In a significant move, prominent economists on Monday made a forceful plea to delink food entitlements from the “faulty” poverty measures put out by the Planning Commission. Asserting that under-Nutrition was much more widespread in the country than income poverty “however defined,” the economists sought restoration of the universal Public Distribution System (PDS) “as the best way forward'' in combating hunger and poverty. “This is not only feasible within the available fiscal...
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Delink food entitlement from poverty measures, say economists by Ruhi Tewari
A week after the Planning Commission submitted to India’s top court an affidavit on its assessment of who the poor are, several leading economists have urged the government to delink food entitlements from what they call “faulty” poverty measures. Last week, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court, India’s apex planning body said the spending threshold per capita for the poverty line was Rs.32 per day (per person) in cities and...
More »Spend Rs 32 a day? Govt says you can't be poor by Dhananjay Mahapatra & Nitin Sethi
The Planning Commission told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that anyone spending more than Rs 965 per month in urban India and Rs 781 in rural India will be deemed not to be poor. Updating the poverty line cut-off figures, the commission said those spending in excess of Rs 32 a day in urban areas or Rs 26 a day in villages will no longer be eligible to draw benefits...
More »Is Rs. 25 all that you need for a day? by Gargi Parsai
In a startling affidavit before the Supreme Court, the Planning Commission has said an individual income of just Rs. 25 a day constitutes adequate “private expenditure on food, education and health.” The affidavit, submitted on Tuesday, bases its assertion on the findings of the Suresh Tendulkar Committee, which pegged the poverty line at Rs. 447 a month, or about Rs. 15 a day, at 2004-2005 prices. Experts reacted with dismay to the...
More »India faces new epidemic with 60 million people morbidly obese by Robin Pagnamenta
India's economy may have been booming in recent years but so have the waistlines of those enjoying such dramatic growth. As a result a country more usually associated with famine is facing an unexpected epidemic with 5 per cent of population 60 million people -- now morbidly obese. This has kept bariatric (weight loss) surgeons such as Muffazal Lakdawala busy fitting gastric bands and stitching stomach bypasses for India's political and business...
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