Although the poverty line of Rs 840 per month is more inclusive of the basic needs of human life, it still only partially reveals the true state of poverty in India. There are some basic needs that cannot be quantified in monetary terms. Therefore, in addition to the poverty line, a proper definition of who is poor should also include "access parameters". Some of the crucial parameters that must be included in the definition of poverty are: 37.7% of Indian households do not have access to a nearby water source 49% do not have proper shelter 69.5% do not have access to suitable toilets 85.2% of Indian villages do not have a secondary school 43% of Indian villages are not connected to an all-weather road Therefore, as we define it, a person is poor in India if he or she has a monthly per capita expenditure that is less than Rs 840 or does not have access to drinking water, proper shelter, sanitation, quality secondary education or an all-weather road with public transport. Raising the bar The present definition of poverty grossly misrepresents the real situation. It is inappropriate to use a simple caloric measure as the yardstick. The responsibility of the state exceeds this manifold. India needs to upgrade the concept of food security to that of nutritious food security. In addition, it should also be the right of every Indian citizen to have access to safe shelter, sanitation, healthcare, education and clothing. When planning policy for the poor, these benchmarks should be the target. This poverty line should be separately calculated for each state to account for regional differences in taste, clothing requirement, housing requirement, and others. It is also important to understand that the norms of basic needs and what may be regarded as luxuries, evolve over time. If one tap in a bathroom is considered a minimum norm now, in a few years, as more and more households fulfil this norm, the norm may be upgraded to include a flush toilet; or, by 2020, piped gas for cooking may become the norm. To account for such changes in established norms, the poverty line should be updated every five years. The present poverty line is updated only to account for an increase in prices. In the long run this distorts the picture of poverty. India needs to urgently revisit its concept of poverty. The present unrealistically low poverty line only serves the purpose of making the government and its development efforts - or the lack of it - look good. If the State is as committed to addressing the ills of poverty as it claims to be, it should start by redefining the poverty line. This will ensure that the government gets its priorities straight and is able to target policy effectively. Based on our proposed poverty line of Rs 840 per month, the State should try to ensure that a typical household of five people is able to earn around Rs 50,000 per year, or about Rs 4,200 per month. This family should have access to a sturdy house with basic amenities such as a toilet connected to a sewerage system and electrical fittings. Access to water should be within 10-15 metres if not, ideally, within the home. The children of the family should be able to access their constitutional right to education. Moreover, the State needs to go beyond offering an accessible school and ensure that the schooling guarantees each student equal opportunities in life. Such a household, where the most fundamental of needs are met, should be the minimum ideal that the State must aim for. This calls for a paradigm shift in the sphere of development policy in India. The shift is overdue and imperative. (Mohan Guruswamy, Chairman, Centre for Policy Alternatives, New Delhi, was an advisor to the finance minister of India. He has many years of experience in academia and in the private sector and is a graduate of the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 05:09:19 +0000
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