Poverty and related topics

What is Poverty?

UN defn

Poverty Line 

First, we need to identify the poor people. So, the Poverty line is a fictional boundary which separates The poor people from the rest.
In India, planning commission calculates the poverty line.
Till recently, planning commission was using the data (Monthly Consumption Amount of Families) collected by NSSO to arrive at the Poverty Line.

Planning Commission set up Suresh Tendulkar Committee in 2004 to

• Review alternate concepts of poverty
• to recommend changes in the existing procedure to calculate official estimates of poverty

The committee recommended that 

• Mixed recommended period (MRP) equivalent poverty line basket (PLB) should be used
• should apply to both rural and urban areas

Planning Commission accepted the recommendations, So, the new poverty line stands at 

Urban areas : 32/- day

Rural areas : 26/- per day

But after huge uproar, Planning Commission set up another committee under C. Rangarajan.