By Ranjani Iyer Mohanty
The poverty line for a given individual can be defined as the money the individual needs to achieve the minimum level of 'welfare' to not be deemed 'poor,' given its circumstances."
This is how Martin Ravallion, director of the Development Research Group at the World Bank, defines the poverty line. In 2005, the World Bank revised the international poverty line up from $1 a day to $1.25 a day, but countries are allowed to set their own national poverty line. The Planning Commission has set India's national line at 578 rupees a month, or the equivalent of 43 U.S. cents a day.
Even assuming only a charitable (to the government, that is) 30 days a month, that works out to less than 20 rupees a day. A half-litre packet of milk at Mother Dairy costs 10 rupees. One mango, those in season and heaped on carts by the side of the street, costs 10 rupees. And a cabbage …but no, your 20 rupees a day has already been spent. If you spend more than that, even on clothing or education or fuel, you cannot be termed as below the poverty line and therefore you are not eligible for BPL-related benefits and subsidies on food, shelter, and medical treatment. And note that the luxurious 20 rupees a day is for city dwellers; rural people have to spend less than 15 rupees a day in order to be below the poverty line.
The absurdity of such a low poverty line is astounding. Even the World Bank, which does not usually comment on national poverty lines, feels that [...]
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