NCERT Solutions for class 9 Economics Poverty as a challenge

Exercise

Q1: Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India.

Ans: In India, government has defined the poverty line based on calories consumed by a person living in the rural area and urban area.

1. The government accepted 2400 calories per person per day requirement in rural areas while 2100 calories per person per day requirement in urban areas.
2. The government estimated that to fulfill the calorie requirement of a person living in rural area must earn 860 rupees per month and a person living in urban area must earn rupees 1000 per month. Any other person earning below this fixed amount will be considered poor.

Q2: Do you think that present methodology of poverty estimation is appropriate?

Ans: No, the present methodology of poverty estimation is inappropriate because it just focuses on the basic need of food water, and shelter which are the lowest measures of poverty estimation rather it should also include access to health facilities access to education, and access to job opportunities.

Q3: Describe poverty trends in India since 1973.

Ans: In 1973, 55% of the total population was living below the poverty line which decline to 37% in 1993-94 which further decline to 20% in 2011-12.

Q4: Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.

Ans: Several factors are responsible for poverty in India:

1. In the past, the British colonial government introduced policies that ruined the handicraft and textile industries in India.
2. The effect of Green revolution was Limited to few States such as Punjab, Haryana, and western UP.
3. Income inequality among people and unequal distribution of land and other resources is also responsible for poverty.
4. High growth rate in population and fewer job opportunities.

Q5: Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty in India.

Ans: Some social and economic groups of people are more vulnerable to poverty than other groups.

Social group

People of scheduled caste and Scheduled tribe are highly vulnerable to poverty. According to statistics, 43 out of 100 people of the scheduled tribe were unable to fulfill their basic needs whereas 29 out of 100 people of the scheduled caste were unable to fulfill their basic needs.

Economic group

In economic groups, rural agricultural labor and urban casual labor are more vulnerable to poverty. According to statistics, 34 out of 100 rural agricultural labor was unable to fulfill their basic needs and 34 out of 100 urban casual labors were also unable to fulfill their basic needs.

Q6: Give an account of interstate disparities of poverty in India.

Ans: According to statistics, Bihar and Orissa were ranked among the poorest states in India. In Bihar, 33.7% of people were living below poverty line whereas in Odisha 32.6 % of people were living below the poverty line. Kerala was experiencing the lowest poverty level in India where only 7.1% of people were living below poverty line.

Q7: Describe Global poverty trends.

Ans: According to World Bank, a person earning less than $1.90 per day falls under the poor category. The following statistics shows that percentage of poor people has declined significantly.

1. In 1990, 36% people around the world were living below poverty line, which decline, to 10% in 2015.
2. In Southeast Asian countries, poverty has declined due to Rapid economic growth and investment in human resources. In countries like China, the poverty has declined from 88.3% in 1981 to 14.7 % in 2008 to 0.6% in 2019.
3. In South Asian countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Pakistan, poverty has declined from 34 % in 2005 to 15.2% in 2014.

Q8: Describe the current government strategy of poverty alleviation.

Ans: The government took two steps to eliminate poverty in India:

Promotion of economic growth 

1. The economic growth rate of India in 1970 was 3.5 % which increased to 6% during 1980 and 1990.
2. This higher growth rate has decreased poverty in India.
3. It also created many job opportunities for people.
4. It also encouraged people to invest in education of their children that will repay them and will be beneficial for society.

Targeted anti poverty programmes

Several anti-poverty programs were launched by the government, which are as follows:

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
2. Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana
3. Pradhan Mantri gramodaya Yojana
4. Antyodaya Anna Yojana
5. Rural Employment generation programme
6. Swarna Jayanti gramin swarozgar Yojana

Q9: Answer the following questions briefly:

1. What do you understand by human poverty?

Ans: Human poverty is a situation where a person is unable to fulfill his basic requirements, he has no access to health facilities, he cannot send his children to school and he also does not have a stable job to earn a living.

2. Who are the poorest of the poor?

Ans: Women, female children, and old people are the poorest of the poor because they do not have equal share in the resources in their families. They struggle to fulfill their basic requirements of food, shelter, education, and health.

3. What are the main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?

Ans: The main features of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 are as follows:

1. It provides 100 days of wage employment to poor sections of society.
2. It also aims to address the causes of deforestation, drought, and soil erosion.
3. One-third of the job was reserved for women.
4. It provided employment to 220 crore persons day of employment to 4.78 crore households.
5. 23% of SC, 17% of ST, and 53% of women were working in this scheme.
6. The average wage was increased from 65 Rupees to 132 rupees.

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