Effects of poverty alleviation programmes in india
Answers
2.1 Poverty Eradication in India
Poverty is a social-economic phenomenon in which a section of society is
unable to fulfill even its basic necessities of life. The minimum needs are food,
clothing, housing, education and other basic minimum human needs. Humanity faces
pains and miseries if it does not attain a subsistence level of such needs. It is generally
agreed that only these would fail to reach a certain minimum consumption standard
should be regards as poor. Poverty is about contradiction of opportunities and
fulfillment of human potential. Poverty and inequality are closely related and
inequality appears to have been on the rise worldwide in recent decades at both
national and international levels. More than 80 percent of the world‟s population lives
in countries where income differentials are widening. The poorest 40 percent of the
world‟s population account for only 5 percent of global income. On the other hand,
the richest 20 percent account for 75 percent of world income, according to the United
Nations Development Programme. Poverty is the principal cause of hunger and under
nourishment. According to most recent estimates of the Food & Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, the number of hungry people worldwide has
reached 963 million or roughly 15 percent of the estimated world population (FAO,
2009).
2.2 Trends in Poverty in India
During five year plans, several programs have been introduced to alleviate
poverty in India, yet there has been an increase in the number of poor persons in the
country.