CBSE Class 11 Economics Poverty (1)

Meaning of poverty
Poverty refers to a state in which an individual in unable to fulfill the even the basic necessaries of life.
The minimum requirements include food, clothing, housing, education and health facilities.

Measures of poverty: relative and absolute

Conclusion: - During 1973-2012, there has been a decline in the number of poor and their proportion but the nature of decline in the two parameters is not encouraging. The ratio is declining much slower than the absolute number of poor in the country.

Concept of poverty line
Poverty line is a cut-off point on the line of distribution, which usually decides the population of the country as poor and non-poor
▪ The concept of poverty line is used to measure the extent of poverty in a country.
– People having income below the poverty line are called “Poor”
– People with income above poverty line are called “Non-Poor”
▪ Poverty line tries to capture the socially acceptable minimum living standards, which the society tries to fulfill.

Categorizing Poverty
There are many ways to categories poverty (s
1. Chronic poor: In includes people who are always poor and those who are usually poor.
2. Transient Poor: Transient poor may be classified as churning poor (who regularly move in and out of poverty, like small farmers) and occasionally poor (who are rich most of the time and poor sometimes).
3. Non-Poor: They are never poor.

Government approach to remove poverty
• The Indian Constitution and five year plan have always stated ‘Social Justice’ as the primary objective of the development strategies of the government.
• Laid emphasis on the Upliftment of the poorest of the poor, mixing the poor into the mainstream and achieving a minimum standard of living for all

               Que briefly explain the three dimensional program on poverty adopted by the government.
 

The main criticisms of the poverty alleviation programmes

1. Faulty Implementation
• Because of corruption the benefits of many poverty alleviation programmes went to the non-poor
• Participation of local level institutions like Panchayati Raj institutions and of the poor people was also missing

2. Unequal Distribution of assets
• None of the poverty alleviation programmes find the root cause of poverty which is the unequal distribution of assets.
• Although land reform measures did allocate some land to the rural landless but there was no political will to implement land reforms and they proved to be a miserable failure.

3. Lack of Resources
• As compared to the extent of poverty, the amount of funds allocated for these programmes is not sufficient.
• There was lack of infrastructural facilities, such as schools, roads, power, telecom, IT services, training, etc

4. Lack of Active participation of Poor people:
• High growth rate alone is insufficient to reduce poverty.
• In fact, there is a need for active participation of the poor for effective implementation of poverty alleviation programmes.

Question. The people who never move above the poverty line are known as:
A. Churning poor
B. Occasionally poor
C. Chronic poor
D. Non-poor
Answer. C

Question. Poverty continues to persist in India, because of
A. Rising prices
B. Rising population
C. Lack of opportunities of employment
D. All of these
Answer. D

Question. Who was the person in India who discuss the concept of poverty line?
A. William Digby
B. Findlay Shirras
C. Dadabhai Naoroji
D. R.C. Desai
Answer. C

Question. Who introduced the concept of 'Jail Cost of Living' ?
A. William Digby
B. Findlay Shirras
C. Dadabhai Naoroji
D. Dr. VKRV Rao
Answer. C

Question. MPCE stands for
A. Minimum Per Capita Expenditure
B, Monthaly Per Capita Expenditure
C. Maximum Per Capita Expenditure
D. None of the above
Answer. B

Question. Which of the following factors make casual labourers the most vulnerable section in society.
A. They have no job security
B. They are not skilled
C. They don't generate enough surplus to sustain themselves
D. All of the above
Answer. D

Question. Amartya Sen, noted Nobel Laureate, has developed an index to estimate poverty which is known ------------ index.
Answer. Sen Index

Question.  ------------ programme intend to improve the food and nutritional staus of the poor.
A. Midday Meal Scheme
B. Public Distribution System
C. Integrated Child Development Scheme
D. All of these
Answer. A

Question. Math the following
A. Chronic poor          1. Compare the income of different people for identify poverty
B. Churning poor        2. People who are always poor
C. Absolute poverty    3. People who are regularly in and out of poverty
D. Relative poverty     4. Compare the income with minimum consumption requirements
Answer. A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1

Question. When was 'Expert Group' was constituted by planning commission?
A. 2002
B. 1989
C. 2005
D. B and C both
Answer. D

 POVERTY

Very Short Answer Questions – 1 Mark Each

1. What does Antyodaya mean?

2. Define poverty

3. Name important measures of poverty index

4. How in Head Count Ratio calculated?

5. Define poverty line

6. What are the various dimensions of poverty?

Short Answer Questions – 3 Marks Each

1. State the basic features of a poor household.

2. What are the major occupations of poor household in rural and urban sector?

3. Explain how Dadabhai Naoroji measured poverty line

4. How is the poor categorised in India?

5. How is poverty line estimated in India?

6. What are the major problems involved in the mechanism of fixing poverty line?

7. What are the major causes that contribute to poverty?

8. In what way the British rule contributed to Indian poverty?

Long Answer Questions – 6 Marks Each

1. Name three important programmes taken to improve food and nutritional status of the poor.

2. Briefly explain the important policies taken by the government to alleviate the problem of poverty in India.

3. Give a critical evaluation of poverty alleviation program of Government of India.

NCERT text book questions – 3 Marks each

1. What is meant by ‘Food for Work’ programme?

2. How can creation of income earning assets address the problem of poverty?

3. What programmes has the government adopted to help the elderly people and poor and destitute women?

4. Is there any relationship between unemployment and poverty? Explain.

5. What is the difference between relative and absolute poverty?

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