RBSE Solutions for Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Poverty

Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Poverty

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Text book Questions

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Objective Type Questions

Question 1.
What is the minimum calorie requirement for defining poverty in rural areas?
(a) 2100 calories
(b) 2400 calories
(c) 2250 calories
(d) 2500 calories
Answer:
(b) 2400 calories

Question 2.
What was the poverty ratio in India in the year 2011-12 according to Tendulkar estimates?
(a) 25.7 per cent
(b) 13.7 per cent
(c) 21.9 per cent
(d) 37.2 per cent
Answer:
(c) 21.9 per cent

Question 3.
In the year 2011-12, which of the following states had the highest poverty ratio according to Tendulkar estimates?
(a) Bihar
(b) Chhattisgarh
(c) Jharkhand
(d) Kerala
Answer:
(b) Chhattisgarh

Question 4.
Out of the following, which definition of poverty is on the basis of minimum consumption for nescessity fulfillment?
(a) Relative measure of poverty
(b) Absolute measure of poverty
(c) Both of these
(d) None of these
Answer:
(b) Absolute measure of poverty

Question 5.
According to capacity measurement of poverty, which parameter is included in defining poverty?
(a) Ratio of children less than 5 years of age
(b) Abnormal delivery ratio
(c) Female illiteracy ratio
(d) All of the above
Answer:
(d) All of the above

Question 6.
What is the measure of poverty according to the World Bank?
(a) Per capita per day 1 US dollar
(b) Per capita per day 1.25 US dollar
(c) Per capita per day 1.5 US dollar
(d) None of the above
Answer:
(b) Per capita per day 1.25 US dollar

Question 7.
Which of the following is not a poverty alleviation or wage employment programme for poverty eradication?
(a) National Rural Employment Programme
(b) Jawahar Rozgar Yojana
(c)TRYSEM
(d) Food for Work Scheme
Answer:
(c)TRYSEM

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is the need of calorie measurement to define poverty?
Answer:
In India, poverty has been linked to “calorie consumption”. The less calorie consumers are termed as poor while more calorie consumers are termed as rich.

Question 2.
In the year 2011-12, according to tendulkar estimates, what was the ratio of poverty in rural and urban areas?
Answer:
Urban areas- 13.7 per cent.
Rural areas- 25.7 per cent.

Question 3.
Write the names of two programmes adopted for self-employment under poverty alleviation.
Answer:

1. Training ofRural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM).
2. Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY).

Question 4.
Write the names of five states having the highest poverty along with their poverty ratios.
Answer:
According to Tendulkar estimates, in the year 2011-12, five states having the highest poverty are :

1. Bihar-33.74 per cent
2. Chhattisgarh – 39.93 per cent
3. Jharkhand- 36.96 per cent
4. Odisha- 32.59 per cent
5. Madhya Pradesh-31.65 per cent.

Question 5.
Write the names of main components of National Social Assistance Programme.
Answer:
National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), and National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS).

Question 6.
Define the capacity measurement of poverty.
Answer:
Under the capacity measurement of poverty, three indicators are used, which include the ratio of underweight children of less than five years of age, abnormal delivery ratio and female illiteracy ratio.

Question 7.
What is the definition of poverty in the year 2011-12 according to Planning Commission?
Answer:
According to the 2011 -12 plan, rupees 816 per capita per month in rural areas and rupees 1000 per capita per month for urban areas was defined as poverty line.

Question 8.
What is Trickle Down Effect?
Answer:
The trickle-down effect is a model of product adoption in marketing that affects many consumer goods and services. It states that fashion flows vertically from the upper classes to the lower classes within the society, each social class influenced by a higher social class.

Question 9.
Write the names of three Indian economists who made an important contribution in context to study of poverty in India.
Answer:

1. Prof. Suresh Tendulkar.
2. Dr. C. Rangarajan
3. M. S. Ahluwalia.

Question 10.
Write the full form of NREP.
Answer:
National Rural Employment Programme.

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Write a note on the various parameters of poverty measurement.
Answer:

1. In India, poverty has been linked to “calorie consumption”. The Planning Commission has assumed people in rural areas having a calorie consumption of less than 2400 calories per day, and with calorie consumption of less than 2100 in urban areas to be poor.
2. In 2011-12, rupees 816 per capita per month in rural areas and rupees 1000 per capita per month for urban areas was defined as poverty line.
3. According to the World Bank, a per person per day consumption expenditure of less than 1.25 US dollars is termed as poor.
4. Under the Capability Measurement of Poverty, three indicators including the ratio of children less than 5 years of age having low weight, abnormal delivery ratio rate and female illiteracy ratio are included.

Question 2.
What are the drawbacks of calorie consumption system and poverty line system in the measurement of poverty line?
Answer:
To measure the poverty line, calorie consumption counting is not a good idea. Other than this, some experts say that calorie consumption should not be considered as the base of poverty line, because poverty is defined by other terms including illness, illiteracy, unemployment, hunger etc. In poverty line system, every poor is considered equal below poverty line, but this is not the. actual case. For this, the correct measurement of their financial condition must be done.

Question 3.
Define relative poverty.
Answer:
According to this hypothesis, income distribution is used to measure poverty. The class with income less than the country’s per capita income is considered to be poor. The relative poverty concept is employed in developed countries to measure poverty.

Question 4.
Write the three reasons responsible for high poverty in India.
Answer:

• High population :
  With our GDP and such high population, per capita income is way too less for surviving with basic necessities. India is at the third position in the world, in context to population. It is expected that the population in India will reach 1.5 billion by 2026 and then India will be the largest populated nation in the world. But India’s economy is not growing at the same pace. This means high rate of poverty.
• Unemployment :
  Due to continuous rise in population, there is chronic unemployment and under employment in India. No such jobs are there to fulfill the needs of the people. Poverty is just the reflection of unemployment.
• Low increase in agricultural production :
  People mostly use old, traditional and subsistence methods of farming. This requires much labour and time. Effects of irrigation and the Green Revolution were limited to only some parts of India.

Question 5.
How is economic development useful in poverty alleviation?
Answer:
Development is considered to be the important factor for poverty alleviation. However, as the speed of development increases, it would result in positive effect on poverty alleviation and would be the factor behind in the increment of employment. More the employment, more the income.

Question 6.
“Poverty is a multi-dimensional concept”. Clarify.
Answer:
Most countries of the world define poverty as a lack of money. Yet, poor people themselves consider their experience of poverty much more broadly. A person who is poor can suffer from multiple disadvantages at the same time – for example, they may have poor health or malnutrition, lack of clean water or electricity, poor quality of work or little schooling. Focusing on one factor alone, such as income, is not enough to realize the true reality of poverty. Multidimensional poverty measures can be used to create a more comprehensive picture. They reveal who is poor and how they are poor – the range of different disadvantages they experience. As well as providing a headline measure of poverty, multidimensional measures can be broken down to reveal the poverty level in different areas of a country, and among different sub-groups of people.

Question 7.
Who are included in poor sections in rural areas in India?
Answer:
The small or marginal farmers, farmers who are indulged in farming etc. are included in poor sections in rural areas in India. They do not have enough land to work upon or do farming and thus do not have enough sources of income. The highest poverty among states is in Chattisgarh.

Question 8.
What is National Rural Livelihood mission?
Answer:
The objective of this mission was to organize every rural family by 2024-25. This scheme is focused on promoting self-employment and organizing the rural poor, to reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self- employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong and sustainable grassroots institutions of the poor, increasing employment opportunities for self-employment and skill wage employment through training and skill development provided to rural poor families. The mission has covered 97391 villages and about 20 self-help groups have been involved in it. In the year 2013-14, loans worth rupees 22121.2 crore were granted to self help groups.

Question 9.
Write the main objectives of National Urban Livelihood Mission.
Answer:
This mission lays emphasis to provide profitable employment to urban and partly employed. It will develop skills according to the need of the market. The objective of this mission is to provide housing with basic amenities to homeless people living in urban areas. This mission mainly aims to reduce urban poverty, improve the living standard of people, provide profitable employment etc.

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Write the problems encountered in measurement of poverty.
Answer:
There is no perfect or stagnant scale for the measurement of poverty that can be used anytime, any day or at any place. This keeps on changing according to the place, date, time and situation. An estimated income is defined to measure the number of poor people in a country, with the estimation that who all can fulfill their basic needs with that income. This is known as poverty line. The poverty threshold, poverty limit or poverty line is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries. This changes from time to time.

In India, poverty has been linked to “calorie consumption”. The Planning Commission has assumed people in rural areas having a calorie consumption of less than 2400 calories per day, and with calorie consumption of less than 2100 in urban areas to be poor. For the year 2011-12, the Planning Commission fixed the poverty line at the level of rupees 27.20 per person per day for rural areas and rupees 33.33 per person per day for urban areas. In 2011-12, rupees 816 per capita per month in rural areas and rupees 1000 per capita per month for urban areas was defined as poverty line.

But, to measure the poverty line, calorie consumption counting is not a good idea. Other than this, some experts say that calorie consumption should not be considered as the sole basis of poverty line, because poverty is also defined by other terms, including illness, illiteracy, unemployment, hunger etc. In poverty methodology, every poor is considered equal below poverty line, but this is not the actual case. For this, the correct measurement of their financial condition must be done.

The ratio of poor with the sum total of the entire population is termed as poverty ratio. Multiplying it by 100, can be used as a source to know the exact poverty ratio of the country. According to this, all the poor people below the poverty line are considered to be equal. For example, In 2011-12, rupees 816 per capita per month in rural areas and rupees 1000 per capita per month for urban areas was defined as poverty line. According to this, a person spending rupees 110 per month is also a poor and the person spending rupees 815 per month is also considered poor. That is why two stages should be adopted in measuring poverty. In the 1st stage, it should be determined how much each individual received, and on this basis, it should be determined that on what basis should the standard of per person income be fixed to ascertain poverty.

In the second stage, it should be estimated how bad the situation is. Ozzler, Dutt and Ravaillian used the “Poverty Gap Ratio” and “Squared Poverty Gap Ratio” to measure this. These measures estimate poverty. The Human Development Report considers poverty to be multi-dimensional. According to the World Bank, a person per day consumption expenditure of less than 1.25 US Dollars is termed as poor. Another measure of poverty measurement is also prevalent, which is the capability measurement of poverty which includes the ratio of children less than 5 years of age having low weight, abnormal delivery ratio and female illiteracy ratio.

Question 2.
Explain the size and regional distribution of the problem of poverty in India.
Answer:
The early estimate of poverty were represented by B .S. Minhas, V.M. Dandekar, N.K. Rath, P.K. Vardhan, and M.S. Ahluwalia. According to B .S. Minhas, in 1967-68, there was 37.1 per cent poverty in India. According to P.K. Vardhan, in 1967-68, there was 54.0 per cent poverty in India. According to the V.M. Dandekar and Rath, this ratio was 40 per cent, and as per Ahluwalia, it was 56.5 percent. All these estimates present the fact that in the decade of 60s, the poverty ratio was quite high. They also presented the fact that the number of poor is higher in rural areas and poverty was particularly rife in marginal and small farmers and in landless agricultural labourers.

According to the Planning Commission, the rural poverty ratio was 56.4 per cent and urban poverty ratio was 49.0 per cent in 1973-74. In 1983-84, this poverty ratio decreased to 45.7 per cent and 40.8 per cent respectively. Under the same estimate, rural poverty was 37.3 per cent and urban poverty was 32.4 per cent in 1993-94. According to the Planning Commission, a sharp decline was seen in the poverty. There was a clear difference between the estimates of the Planning Commission for poverty ratio (37.3 per cent), and Tendulkar system based estimates (50.1 per cent), and according to Tendulkar estimates, rural poverty was much and more.

A working group was formed by the Planning Commission in 1989 under the chairmanship of D.T. Lakrawala. According to this committee, per centage of poverty in the country was 54.9% in 1973-74, which increased to 36% in 1993-94 and was 27% in 2004-05.

According to the Tendulkar system, poverty ratio in rural areas was 50.1 per cent in 1993-94, which decreased to 25.7 per cent in 2011-12. Urban poverty was 31.8 per cent in 1993-94, which dropped to 13.7 per cent in 2011-12. In the same way, combined poverty ratio which was 45.3 per cent in 1993-94, and it decreased to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12. Rapid decline was seen during this period in rural poverty.

Regional Distribution of Poverty in India :
The poverty ratio in the different states of India is different and the difference in decline in poverty can be observed clearly. According to Tendulkar estimates, the poverty ratio in major states in 2011 -12 was as follows :
Poverty ratio in Different States of India

State	Rural	Urban	Combined
Bihar	34.06	31.23	33.74
Chhattisgarh	44.61	24.75	39.93
Jharkhand	40.84	24.83	36.96
Madhya Pradesh	35.74	21.00	31.65
Uttar Pradesh	30.40	26.06	29.43
Odisha	35.69	17.29	32.59

Source : Planning Commission, Government of India.

The highest poverty among states is in Chhattisgarh. According to the Planning Commission, poverty ratio in Mizoram in 1993-94 was 11.8 per cent which increased to 20.4 per cent in 2011-12. The poverty ratio in Manipur in 2004-05 was 37.9 per cent which increased to 47.1 per cent in 2009¬10 and again dropped to 36.89 per cent in 2011 -12. The poverty ratio in Arunachal Pradesh in 2004-05 was 31.4 per cent which became 34.67 per cent in 2011-12. The poverty ratio in north-eastern states increased between 2004-05 and 2011-12 which indicates unequal development.

The poverty ratio in Odisha in 2004-05 was 57.2 per cent which decreased to 32.6 per cent in 2011-12. In Bihar, the poverty ratio was 54.5 per cent in 2004-05 which decreased to 33.7 per cent in 2011-12. The decrease in poverty change in Madhya Pradesh between 2004-05 and 2011-12 was 15.3 per cent. In comparison to decline in all India poverty ratio, between 2004-05 and 2011-12, Odisha (24.6 per cent), Bihar (20.8 per cent), Tamil Nadu (17.6 per cent), Rajasthan (19.7 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (16.9 per cent) registered a greater decline in poverty ratio.

Question 3.
Describe the reasons responsible for poverty prevailing in rural areas.
Answer:

• Illiteracy :
  People, who are illiterate, cannot get good employment opportunities. As a result, they go for petty and small jobs, such as daily wage labour and other less paid jobs. Hence, illiteracy increases poverty and this also compels persons to remain illiterate.
• Dependence on Agriculture :
  Indian farmers make themselves fully dependent upon the agriculture. But, absence and lack of knowledge in using modem techniques of agriculture has resulted in the inability of farmers to protect their fields from pests and animals, and hence, less production and less income.
• Irregular Employment :
  This is one of the major causes for poverty. Non-availability of proper employment leads to lowering the standard of living of people.
• Indebtness :
  Poverty is perhaps a major cause for rural indebtedness. The low level of rural incomes, the uncertain and primitive farming of small land holdings, makes it impossible to meet the needs required for their living. Often, the rural people take loans to meet these needs.
• Social Backwardness and Lack of Mobility :
  The lack of education in rural areas, lack of awareness and lack in the desire of making positive changes, create social backwardness and lack of mobility.
• Faulty PDS :
  Indian Public Distribution System (PDS) targets to provide subsidized essential commodities to economically weaker households. But this is also faulty. Ration is not distributed to the people on time and corruption prevails in this system also.
• Weakness of Development Strategy :
  Development strategies are made for large industries and businesses but not for the improvement of agriculture and social awareness, which results in the lack of employment. Even today, 55 per cent of the total population is dependent upon agriculture, and its contribution in GDP is 13.9 per cent.
• Low Agricultural Production :
  Absence and lack of knowledge in using modem techniques of agriculture has resulted in the inability of farmers to protect their fields from pests and animals. In India, during the British rule, there was no improvement done in agriculture. The Government did not render any assistance to the cultivators to use modem techniques of agriculture.

Question 4.
Discuss the strategies adopted by the government for alleviating poverty.
Answer:

i. Increase in the pace of economic growth :
If rapid economic development takes place in the country, it would cause income to rise. The rise in income would percolate down to the poor class. The result would be creation of employment opportunities due to development, which would reduce poverty and the tax income of the government will increase. In this way, development is considered important for the country to grow. However, as the speed of development was not satisfactory and economic employment could not create employment in sufficient measure. Therefore, alleviating poverty only through economic development proved to be a failure.

ii. Implementation of Wage Employment and Self Employment Programme for Alleviating Poverty :
In the decade of 60s, the poverty ratio was quite high. It also presented the fact that the number of poor is higher in rural areas and poverty was particularly rife in marginal and small farmers and in landless agricultural labourers. And in order to alleviate poverty, programmes directly impacting poverty will have to be adopted. This presented the extensiveness of the problem of poverty in India. As a result, marginal farmers development agency, small farmers development agency, intensive programme for rural employment, initial intensive rural employment programme, food for work programme etc. were adopted. Later, some more programmes were also launched for poverty alleviation.

• Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)
• Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY)
• Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)
• Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana
• PradhanMantriGramodyaYojana
• Swama Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana
• Sampuma Gramin Rozgar Yoj ana
• ValkimiAmbedkarAwas Yojana
• National Food for Work Programme 0 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
• National Rural Employment Programme (NREP)
• National Rural Livelihood Mission
• National Urban Livelihood Mission

iii. Social Assistance Programme :
In order to provide social security, the National Social Assistance Programme was launched in August 15, 1995. This programme had four components. These included old age pension, window pension, inability pension, and family benefit scheme. The Social Assistance Programme was basically meant for those poor people who could not become a part of wage employment and self employment programmes
due to some inability.

iv. Area Development Program and Infrastructure Development :
The problem of poverty was more acute in some regions of the country due to backwardness and natural losses. Attention was given to development in these regions by implementing special programmes, so that the income of the poor people living in these regions could be increased. The Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) and Desert Development Programme (DDP) was launched in 1977-78. Under this program, scheme was implemented for maintaining ecological balance in desert areas, productive employment, income growth, restricting expansion of deserts and increasing productivity of land.

Programs were undertaken to provide rural housing. The Public Distribution System was increasingly targeted towards the rural classes. All these efforts were made so that these areas could be developed and the condition of the extent of poverty of the people living in these areas could be controlled.

Question 5.
In your view, what can be done to alleviate poverty in India? Clarify.
Answer:

• Population Control :
  Agriculture is the backbone of our country. It provides income to a large number of people. Hence, the government should also concentrate on it and not only on the development of industries.
• Agricultural Development :
  Agriculture should be developed to remove poverty. Rapid rate of growth of agricultural production will help to remove urban as well as rural poverty.
• Social Awareness :
  People should be made aware and should be provided with adequate education, proper health facilities, healthy environment etc.
• Promoting small savings :
  Industrialization would gain momentum with these small savings.
• Self employment :
  Special measures should be taken to solve the problems of unemployment and self unemployment should be promoted.
• Development of Industries :
  New technologies must be adopted for the adequate development of industries.
• Various programmes for development of rural and urban areas must be adopted :
  Separate programmes for development of rural and urban areas must be adopted for eradicating poverty, because they both have different conditions.
• Proper Utilization of Resources :
  Resources of the country should be utilized properly so that we can avail the benefits of those free gifts of nature.
• Establishment of Small Scale Industries :
  Government should develop cottage, handicrafts and other small scale industries in the backward regions of our country.
• Financial Assistance :
  Proper financial assistance should be given to the poor citizens.

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Other Important Questions

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Objective Type Questions

Question 1.
According to the poverty ratio line, how many indicators are there to identify the poverty ratio?
(a) 4
(b) 3
(c) 2
(d) 5
Answer:
(b) 3

Question 2.
The early estimates of poverty were represented by
(a) B .S. Minhas
(b) P.K. Vardhan
(c) M.S. Ahluwalia
(d) All these
Answer:
(d) All these

Question 3.
According to B .S. Minhas, how much poverty was there in India in 1967-68?
(a) 37.1 per cent
(b) 54.0 per cent
(c) 40.0 per cent
(d) 56.5 per cent
Answer:
(a) 37.1 per cent

Question 4.
In which year, a working group was formed by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of D.T. Lakrawala?
(a) 1983
(b) 1990
(c)1989
(d) None of these
Answer:
(c)1989

Question 5.
According to the Tendulkar estimates, poverty ratio in rural areas decreased to how much per cent in 2011-12?
(a) 13.7
(b) 25.7
(c) 21.9
(d) 33.8
Answer:
(b) 25.7

Question 6.
The World bank has fixed an International Poverty line on the basis of the national poverty line of how many poorest countries?
(a) 10
(b) 20
(c) 15
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) 10

Question 7.
A task force was set up by the Government of India under for poverty evaluation the chairmanship of
(a) Arvind Panagariya
(b) Dr. C. Rangarajan
(c) D. T. Lakarwala
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) Arvind Panagariya

Question 8.
What is the reason of increase in poverty?
(a) Population growth
(b) Low rate of work participation
(c) Growth without adequate employment
(d) All of the above
Answer:
(d) All of the above

Question 9.
The programme that guarantees to give the employment to the families under non-skilled work employment is
(a) NAREGA
(b) TRYSEM
(c) PMRY
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) NAREGA

Question 10.
When was VAMBAY (Valmiki Amhedkar Awas Yojna) started?
(a) In the year 2006
(b) In the year 2001
(c) In the year 2005
(d) In the year 1997
Answers:
(b) In the year 2001

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is meant by poverty?
Answer:
Poverty is that condition in which a person lives in a state of insufficiency with regard to food, housing, necessary things of consumption, education and health care.

Question 2.
What is the minimum calorie consumption to define poor people in rural areas?
Answer:
2400 calories per day.

Question 3.
What is the minimum calorie consumption to define poor people in urban areas?
Answer:
2100 calories per day.

Question 4.
Why more calorie consumption in rural areas is considered good?
Answer:
Due to the more physical labour, more calorie consumption in rural areas is considered good.

Question 5.
For the year 2011-12, the Planning Commission fixed the poverty line at the level of how many rupees per person per day for rural areas?
Answer:
Rs. 27.20 per person per day.

Question 6.
In 2011-12, how much money per month for urban areas was defined as poverty line, according to the Planning Commission?
Answer:
Rs. 1000 per person per month.

Question 7.
What is Head Count Ratio?
Answer:
The ratio of poor people’s number to the total population is called Head Count Ratio.

Question 8.
According to Amartya Sen, how many phases should be adopted for counting the poverty?
Answer:
Two.

Question 9.
According to Ozzler, Dutt and Ravaillian, which indicators were used determine the poverty gap?
Answer:
“Poverty gap ratio” and “Squared poverty gap ratio”.

Question 10.
According to the World Bank, what is the measure of poverty?
Answer:
According to the World Bank, a per person per day consumption expenditure of less than 1.25 US dollars is termed as poor.

Question 11.
Due to the difference of opinion about condition of poverty, the Planning Commission formed an expert committee under the chairmanship of whom?
Answer:
Prof. Suresh Tendulkar.

Question 12.
What is relative poverty?
Answer:
According to this hypothesis, income distribution is used to measure poverty. The class with income less than the country’s per capita income is considered to be poor. The relative poverty concept is employed in developed countries to measure poverty.

Question 13.
What is absolute poverty?
Answer:
In this method, a minimum consumption level is fixed to estimate poverty. The number of poor people is estimated on the basis of the consumption level. The definition of poverty linked to calorie consumption in India is an absolute measure of poverty.

Question 14.
Which type of poverty is used for the measurement of poverty in developing countries?
Answer:
Relative poverty.

Question 15.
Which economists presented the earlier estimates of poverty in India?
Answer:
B .S. Minhas, V.M. Dandekar, N.K. Rath, P.K. Vardhaji, and M.S. Ahluwalia.

Question 16.
According to P.K. Vardhan, in 1967-68, what was the percentage of poverty in India?
Answer:
54.0 per cent.

Question 17.
According to the Planning Commission, what was the rural and urban poverty ratio in 1973-74?
Answer:
56.4 per cent in rural areas and 49.0 per cent in urban areas.

Question 18.
Under the chairmanship of whom was a working group formed by the Planning Commission in 1989 for poverty estimation?
Answer:
Under the chairmanship of D.T. Lakrawala.

Question 19.
According to Tendulkar estimates, what was the combined poverty ratio in 1993-94?
Answer:
45.3 per cent.

Question 20.
According to Tendulkar system, in the year 2004-05, what was the criteria of money per month per capita in rural areas to define poverty?
Answer:
Rs. 446.80.

Question 21.
According to the Tendulkar system estimates, in 2011-12, how many total people were poor in the country?
Answer:
269.3 million people were poor in the country.

Question 22.
On which basis has the World Bank fixed an International Poverty line?
Answer:
On the basis of the average of the national poverty line of 10 poorest countries.

Question 23.
Which programme is considered responsible for the rapid decline in poverty in rural regions between the year 2004-05 and 2011-12?
Answer:
Rural Development Programme.

Question 24.
Between the year 2004-05 and 2011-12, poverty ratio increased in which north-eastern states?
Answer:
Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Question 25.
In which year, in the background of controversy on Poverty Line, an expert group was formed under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan?
Answer:
In the year 2012.

Question 26.
According to Rangarajan Committee, what is the poverty line in the rural areas?
Answer:
Rs. 972 per person per day.

Question 27.
State two reasons for increase in poverty in India.
Answer:

1. Rise in population
2. Illiteracy.

Question 28.
State the full form of IRDP.
Answer:
Integrated Rural Development Programme.

Question 29.
TRYSEM was initiated in which year?
Answer:
In the year 1979.

Question 30.
What is the objective of NREP?
Answer:
To provide gainful employment for unemployed and underemployed persons in rural areas.

Question 31.
When was RLEGP started?
Answer:
In the year 1983.

Question 32.
Which scheme was initiated to provide housing assistance to the poors in rural regions in the year 1985-86?
Answer:
Indira Awas Yojana.

Question 33.
When was Employment Assurance Scheme started?
Answer:
In the year 1993.

Question 34.
Which scheme was initiated for providing labour employment in drought, deserted, tribal and Himalayan regions?
Answer:
EAS (Employment Assurance Scheme).

Question 35.
Which Scheme is designed to create and provide sustainable self-employment opportunities to educated unemployed youth in the country?
Answer:
Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana (PMRY).

Question 36
Which scheme which scheme was started in 1997-98 to provide financial assistance to farmers for the drainage and maintenance of surface water and underground water?
Answer:
Ganga Kalyana Scheme (GKY).

Question 37.
When was Antyodaya Yojana started for the poorest of the poor section?
Answer:
In the year 2000.

Question 38.
In which year, was the program to provide social security to poors under the National Social Assistance Programme launched?
Answer:
On August 15, 1995.

Question 39.
Write the names of two programmes run to prevent the backward regions from getting affected by natural disasters and for their development?
Answer:

1. DPAP (Drought Prone Area Programme).
2. DDP (Desert Development Programme).

Question 40.
When was CADP (Command Area Development Program) started?
Answer:
In the year 1975.

Question 41.
When was Jawhar Gram Samriddhi Yojana started?
Answer:
In April, 1999.

Question 42.
What was the ratio of cost division between the centre and the states under the Swarn jayaanti Employment Programme?
Answer:
75 : 25.

Question 43.
When was Food for Work Programme initiated?
Answer:
In the year 2004.

Question 44.
When was National Rural Employment Guarantee Act implemented?
Answer:
In September, 2005.

Question 45.
Suggest two measures to alleviate poverty.
Answer:

1. Increasing the rate of economic development.
2. Control upon population growth.

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is meant by poverty?
Answer:
Poverty is a multifaceted concept, which may include social, economic, and political elements. Absolute poverty, extreme poverty, or destitution refers to the complete lack of the means necessary to meet basic personal needs such as food, clothing and shelter.

Question 2.
What is poverty line?
Answer:
This is a level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor according to governmental standards. The poverty threshold, poverty limit or poverty line is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.

Question 3.
How is calorie consumption defined as the measure to rate poverty?
Answer:
In India, poverty has been linked to “calorie consumption”. The Planning Commission has assumed people in rural areas having a calorie consumption of less than 2400 calories per day, and calorie consumption of less than 2100 in urban areas to be poor.

Question 4.
Why is “calorie consumption” not considered suitable to measure poverty?
Answer:
To measure poverty, calorie consumption counting is not a good idea. Other than this, some experts say that calorie consumption should not be considered as the base of poverty line, because poverty is also defined by other terms including illness, illiteracy, unemployment, hunger etc. In poverty line system, every poor is considered equal below poverty line, but this is not the actual case. For this, the correct measurement of their financial condition must be done.

Question 5.
What is poverty ratio?
Answer:
The poverty ratio is the proportion of a population that exists, or lives, below the poverty line. When the number of poor is estimated as the proportion of people below the poverty line, it is known as ‘head count ratio’. It is calculated by multiplying by 100.

Question 6.
According to the Human Development Report, which shortfalls are important for the measurement of poverty?
Answer:
According to the Human Development Report, three shortfalls are important for the measurement of poverty :

1. Lack of high life expectancy.
2. Lack of education.
3. Lack of high standard of living.

Human Poverty Index was initiated on this basis.

Question 7.
According to the Capability Measurement of Poverty, which factors/indicators are included in defining poverty?
Answer:
In the capacity measurement of poverty, three indicators, namely, ratio of children less than 5 years of age having low weight, abnormal delivery ratio and female illiteracy ratio.

Question 8.
What is absolute poverty?
Answer:
In this method, a minimum consumption level is fixed to estimate poverty. The number of poor people is estimated on the basis of the consumption level. The definition of poverty linked to calorie consumption in India is an absolute measure of poverty.

Question 9.
State two tasks given to Rangarajan committee in relation to poverty.
Answer:
Following are the tasks given to Rangarajan committee :

1. Determining the poverty line of the nation and providing estimates of poverty.
2. Evaluating the difference between the data used by National Statistical Organisation and National Sample Survey Organisation.

Question 10.
What was the objective of the task force constituted by the Indian Government in 2015?
Answer:
A task force was set up by the Government of India under the chairmanship of the vice-chairman of the Planning Commission Dr. Arvind Panagariya in 2015. Its objective was to assess the poverty and to unravel the measures to eliminate it and to make necessary programmes for that.

Question 11.
State the reasons for poverty in the rural regions of India.
Answer:
The reasons for poverty in the rural regions of India are :

1. Lack of education and technical know how.
2. Excessive dependence on agriculture.
3. Irregular employment.
4. Indebtdness.
5. Social backwardness and lack of mobility of labour.
6. Faulty Public Distribution System.
7. Slow rate of growth in agricultural production.

Question 12.
What programmes were initiated after seeing the extreme poverty condition of the country in the 1970s?
Answer:
Programmes that were initiated after seeing the extreme poverty condition of 1970s were Small or Marginal Farmers Development Agency, Rural Employment Programme, Food for Work Programme, etc.

Question 13.
What is National Rural Employment Programme (NREP)?
Answer:
National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) was initiated with the objective of providing employment in rural areas, so that people can have access to better income.

Question 14.
What programmes were started for the Drought Prone areas?
Answer:

1. Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) is the “earliest area development programme” launched by the Central Government in 1973-74 to tackle the specific problems faced by those fragile areas which are constantly affected by severe drought conditions.
2. The basic obj ective of this programme is to minimise the adverse effects of drought on production of crops and livestock and productivity of land, water and human resources, ultimately leading to drought proofing of the affected areas.

Question 15.
State any five major programmes for alleviating poverty.
Answer:

1. Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)
2. Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY).
3. Pradhan Mantri Gramodya Yojana.
4. Swama Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana.
5. Sampuma Gramin Rozgar Yojana.

Question 16.
What is “Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojana”?
Answer:
Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) was launched on 1st April 1999, and it has been designed to improve the quality of life of the rural poor by providing them additional gainful employment. The cost division of Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojana between centers and state was 75:25.

Question 17.
What was the objective of Prime Minister Rural Road Programme?
Answer:
Prime Minister Rural Road Programme is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all weather road connectivity to unconnected villages. Its objective was to connect villages having a population of500 and more with cemented roads till the end of the tenth five year-plan. Till the end of the programme, 7866 crore rupees were spent on it and 60024 km long rural roads were built.

Question 18.
State any 5 remedies for alleviating poverty in India.
Answer:
5 remedies for alleviating poverty in India are :

1. Influential control on population.
2. Promotion to self-employment.
3. Reforms in Public Distribution System.
4. Encouragement to small savings.
5. Emphasis upon the development of industries.

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
How is calorie consumption defined in urban and rural areas?
Answer:
How many calories per day does an ordinary person need? In India, poverty has been linked to “calorie consumption”. The Planning Commission has assumed people in rural areas having a calorie consumption of less than 2400 calories per day, and with calorie consumption of less than 2100 in urban areas to be poor. According to official assumption, if you consume less than this level of calories, you are suffering from under-nutrition. This is not the actual case. The people of urban areas actually require and consume less than rural areas, because rural people do more hard labour and more physical labour requires more consumption of calories.

Question 2.
According to Amartya Sen, how many phases should be adopted for the measurement of poverty?
Answer:
According to Amartya Sen, two phases (stages) should be adopted for the measurement of poverty. In the 1st stage, it should be determined how much each individual received and on this basis it should be determined on what basis should the standard of per person income be fixed to ascertain poverty. In the second stage, it should be estimated how bad the situation is. Ozzler, Dutt and Ravaillian used the “Poverty gap ratio” and “Squared poverty gap ratio” to measure this.

Question 3.
State the methods to determine the poverty line in India.
Answer:
Methods to determine the poverty line in India are :

1. To estimate the limit on consumption, public expenditure and consumer goods expenditure implied by the government are not considered. Under this, only private expenditure is considered.
2. Poverty ratio is also defined by calorie consumption.
3. For private consumption expense components, both, food items and non-food items are taken in consideration.
4. After every class interval, frequencies are recorded, and each of these frequencies portrays the number of people associated with it.
5. Finally census or people counting is conducted which shows the poor and non-poor people of the rural and urban sectors separately. This count exhibits the percentage of population below the poverty line.

Question 4.
In all the initial assumptions of poverty made by different economists in India, what facts were presented by them?
Answer:
The initial estimates of poverty were represented by B .S. Minhas, V.M. Dandekar, N.K. Rath, P.K. Vardhan, and M.S. Ahluwalia. All these estimates portray the fact that in the decade of 60s, the poverty ratio was quite high. They also presented the fact that the number of poors is higher in rural areas and poverty was particularly rife in marginal and small farmers and in landless agricultural labourers.

Question 5.
Show the basic poverty estimates of family income components of the National Sample Survey Organisation as per Tendulkar estimates in India.
Answer:
Poverty in India (in per cent):

Year	Rural	Urban	Combined
1993-94	50.1	31.8	45.3
2004-05	41.8	25.7	37.2
2009-10	33.8	13.7	29.8
2011-12	25.7	13.7	21.9

Source : Planning Commission!. Govt, of India

Question 6.
According to Tendulkar system, what is the poverty rate in major India states in the year 2011-12?
Answer:
Poverty rate in major states of India (in per cent) :

State	Rural	Urban	Combined
Bihar	34.06	31.23	33.74
Chhattisgarh	44.61	24.75	39.93
Jharkhand	40.84	24.83	36.96
Madhya Pradesh	35.74	21.00	31.65
Uttar Pradesh	30.40	26.06	29.43
Odisha	35.69	17.29	32.59

Source : Planning Commission, Govt, of India

Question 7.
Is there any relationship between poverty and unemployment? Explain.
Answer:
There is a direct relationship between poverty and unemployment. Unemployment and poverty are two major challenges faced by the world at present. Unemployment leads to poverty, and, in turn, poverty leads to unemployment. Poverty is a condition in which a person experiences trouble due to the absence of necessary things that he needs in order to survive. While unemployment is the absence of opportunity to generate money for a living in exchange of someone’s time, effort and talent.

Question 8.
Explain the unequal distribution of income as a sign of poverty in brief.
Answer:
Unequal distribution of income is termed as one of the most important factors for poverty in India. Many programmes and schemes have been initiated to overcome these, but still, no such scheme has proven effective enough to overcome these signs of poverty. In the year 2004-05, the contribution of 20% rich people in the national income was 45.3%, and the contribution of rural people was only 8.1 %. In this way, on one hand, unequal distribution of income depicts poverty, and on the other hand, it also broadly impacts the spread and depth of poverty.

Question 9.
Write a note on National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP).
Answer:
In order to provide social security to the poor people, National Social Assistance Programme was launched on August 15, 1995. This programme had four components. These included-old age pension, widow pension, inability pension, and family benefit scheme. The Social Assistance Programme was basically meant for those poor people who could not become a part of wage employment and self employment programme due to some inability.

Question 10.
Explain Swarna Jayanati Gram Swarozgar Yojana in brief.
Answer:
Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) is an initiative launched by the Government of India to provide sustainable income to the poorest of the poor people living in rural and urban areas of the country. The scheme was launched on April 1, 1999. The Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana aims at providing self-employment to villagers through the establishment of self-help groups. Activity clusters are established based on the aptitude and skill of the people which are nurtured to their maximum potential. Funds are provided by NGOs, banks and financial institutions.

The main aim of these SHGs was to bring these poor families above the poverty line and to concentrate on income generation through combined effort. The cost division of Swam Jayanti Employment Programme between the center and the states is 75:25. This scheme will be implemented in accordance with the Panchayat Samities by the rural development agencies. The evaluation of its progress will be done by the designated banks.

Question 11.
Explain “Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana”,
Answer:
The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana was a scheme launched by the Government of India to attain the objective of providing gainful employment for the mral poors on 1st September 2001.
Its main objectives are :

1. To provide employment to increased number of people.
2. To provide emphasis on basic requirements. The objective of this scheme is to create 100 crore Human Days. The cost of this plan will be borne by the centre and the states in the ratio of 87.5 : 12.5.
3. Increase in regional economic and social conditions.

Question 12.
Explain “Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana”.
Answer:
This scheme had the primary objective of facilitating the construction and up-gradation of housing units for slum dwellers and providing a healthy urban environment to the urban slum dwellers. 50% subsidy was provided by the center. Under this scheme, 211 crore rupees were allotted till 2003 and 1.6 lakh houses were built. This scheme was initiated in 2001.

Question 13.
Explain the “National Food for Work Programme”.
Answer:
The National Food for Work Programme (NFWP), 2004 was launched by the minister of rural development, central government, on November 14, 2004 in 150 most backward districts of India with the objective of generating supplementary wage employment. The programme is open for those all Indian poors who are prepared to do manual unskilled labour work and are in the need of wage employment. It is implemented as a centrally-sponsored scheme. Food grains are provided to the states free of cost. The transportation cost, handling charges, and taxes on food grains, will, however, be the responsibility of the states. This programme was started in 2004.

Question 14.
Why is employment creation essential for the eradication of poverty from India?
Answer:
Employment creation is essential for the eradication of poverty from India of poverty because there is a direct relationship between employment creation and poverty. India, being a developing country, is facing the problem of acute poverty. If employment would increase, then poverty rate would decrease, that it why important schemes are being initiated for the creation of self-employment opportunities. Under this, the government also provides financial assistance and training to start one’s own business for the poverty alleviation.

Question 15.
What is the role of “Opportunities of Self – Employment” and “Fall in Prices” in poverty?
Answer:

• Opportunities of Self – Employment :
  New opportunities must be searched to gain self-employment. Technical Training institutions must be opened in large numbers to provide technical training. Loans at low interest rate must be provided to the unemployed to purchase commercial property, and small scale businesses must be encouraged.
• Fall in Prices :
  Fall in prices is one of the most important conditions for eradication of poverty. The high rates of items proves to be deterimental for general public. The fall in prices can only be possible when the production of common items is increased and the basic items are provided at subsidised prices to the poor.

RBSE Class 11 Economics Chapter 20 Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What recommendations were made by the expert committee formed under the chairmanship of Prof. Suresh Tendulkar in terms of poverty line estimates, formed by the Planning Commission?
Answer:
Following recommendations were made by the committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Suresh Tendulkar in terms of poverty line estimates :

1. The data of family personal consumption expenditure provided by the National Sample Survey Organization should used to measure poverty in India.
2. The committee said that instead of using “calorie consumption” for estimation of poverty, the actual consumption format should be used.
3. For information about consumption expenditure, different estimates are made by using different recall periods. The committee recommended the use of mixed recall period instead of uniform recall period to obtain information about consumption expenditure.
4. In the “minimum consumption” proposed by the committee, non-food items were also included in addition to food items.
5. The committee made efforts to ensure that rural and urban population of all the states obtained consumption according to the commodity group proposed in the all India urban poverty line.

Question 2.
Which tasks were allotted to the Rangarajan committee in the context of conflicts on the issued of poverty estimation and which things were included for the assessment of poverty?
Answer:
In the background of controversy on Poverty line, an expert group was formed under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan in 2012. Stating the poverty line of the nation and assuming the poverty, finding the difference between the data of the National statistical organisation and National sample survey organisation were the two tasks given to Dr. Rangarajan. The things which were included in the methods adopted for poverty estimation by the committee included the following:

1. The fixation of nutrition, clothes, house rent, transport, education and other non-food expenditure for poverty line determination should be done on the basis of laid down standards.
2. For estimatation of expenditure on nutrition, the people conforming to these nutritional standards come in lowest 25-30 per cent in rural areas and in the lowest 15-20 per cent in urban areas.
3. According to the committee, the poverty line in the rural area per person per day was Rs. 972, and for urban areas, it was Rs. 1407. In rural areas, income of Rs. 4860 fora five- member family and income of Rs. 7035 in urban areas was considered as the poverty line.
4. According to the procedure adopted by the committee, the poverty in the country in 2009-10 was 38.2 per cent and in 2011-12 it was 29.5 per cent. This shows that during this period, poverty declined to 8.7%. According to Tendulkar estimates, the poverty in India in 2009-10 was 29.8 per cent which dropped to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12.

Question 3.
What are the major reasons for presence of poverty in India?
Answer:
Reasons for presence of poverty in India are :

• Social, Economic and Political Inequality :
  Societies cannot progress if certain sections of people are left-out simply because they happen to be from the “wrong” or lower class, caste, ethnic group, race or sex. If the virus of colour and race based discrimination has damaged the social set up of many countries in the West, the bacteria of “caste” division has undermined the cohesive social fabric of India.
• Illiteracy :
  High level of illiteracy, particularly in the rural areas and among women, has been a crucial factor not only in perpetuating economic backwardness, but also for high population growth. The persistence of high illiteracy has created a situation where poverty and population have been feeding each other.
• Unemployment :
  Due to continuous rise in population, there is chronic unemployment and under employment in India.
• High population :
  With our GDP and such high population, per capita income is way too less for surviving with basic necessities.
• Dependence on Agriculture :
  Indian farmers make themselves fully dependent upon agriculture. But, absence and lack of knowledge in using modem techniques of agriculture has resulted in the inability of farmers to protect their fields from pests and animals.
• Irregular Employment :
  This is one of the major causes for poverty. Non-availability of proper employment leads to lowering of the standard of living of people.
• Indebtedness :
  Poverty is perhaps a major cause for rural indebtedness. The low level of rural incomes, the uncertain and primitive farming of small land holdings makes it impossible to meet the needs required for sustenance of living. Often, the rural people take loans to meet these expenses.
• Social backwardness and lack of mobility :
  Lack of education in rural areas, lack of awareness and lack in the desire to change, creates social backwardness and lack of mobility.
• Faulty PDS :
  India’s Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) provides subsidized essential commodities to economically weaker households. But due to the faults present in this system, the deserving people are unable to get benefitted from this system.
• Weakness of development strategy :
  Development strategies are made for large industries and businesses, but not for the improvement of agriculture and creation of social awareness, which results in the spread of poverty.
• Low Agricultural Production :
  Absence and lack of knowledge in using modem techniques in agriculture has resulted in the inability of farmers to protect their fields from pests and animals. So, the production and productivity both are low.

Question 4.
Discuss the schemes initiated by the government for the eradication of poverty.
Answer:
Following are the schemes initiated by the government as for the eradication of poverty :

i. Prime Minister Rural Roads Programme :
This is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages. Its objective was to connect villages with population of 500 and more with the cemented roads till the end of tenth five year plan. Till the end of the programme, 7866 crore rupees were spent on it arid 60024 km of roads were built.

ii. Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) :
The objective of IRDP is to enable identified rural poor families to come over the poverty line by providing productive assets and inputs to the target groups. The assets which could be in the primary, secondary or tertiary sector are provided through financial assistance in the form of subsidy by the government. This scheme was initiated in 1978. In 1999, this programme was merged in the Swama Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana.

iii. Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana :
(SGSY) is an initiative launched by the Government of India to provide sustainable income the poorest of the poor people living in rural and urban areas of the country. The scheme was launched on April 1, 1999. The Swama Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana aims at providing self-employment to villagers through the establishment of self-help groups. Activity clusters are established based on the aptitude and skill of the people which are nurtured to their maximum potential. Funds are provided by NGOs, banks and financial institutions. The main aim of these SHGs was to bring these poor families above the poverty line and concentrate on income generation through combined effort. The cost division of Swam Jayanti Employment Programme was made between the center and the states in the ratio of 75:25.

iv. Employment Assurance Scheme :
Employment Assurance Scheme was launched on 2nd October, 1993 for implementation in 1772 identified backward blocks of different States. Later, it was further extended to 5448 blocks. The blocks selected were situated in the drought prone areas, desert areas, tribal areas and hilly areas. Later, the scheme was extended to the remaining blocks of the country in a phased manner. Its cost sharing ratio between the center and the states was kept at 75:25.

v. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana :
The scheme has the primary objective of facilitating the construction and up-gradation of dwelling units for slum dwellers and providing a healthy and enabling urban environment was also a component of the scheme. 50% subsidy was provided by the center. Under this scheme, 211 crore rupees were spent till 2003 and 1.6 lakh houses were built. This scheme was initiated in 2001.

vi. National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme :
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed in September 2005. National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) was initiated in February 2006, whose objective was to provide employment in rural areas, so that they people there have an access to income.

vii. National Food For Work Programme :
The National Food for Work Programme (NFWP), 2004, was launched by the minister of rural development, central government on November 14, 2004 in 150 of the most backward districts of India with the objective of generating supplementary wage employment. The programme is open for all those Indian poors who are prepared to do manual unskilled labour work and are in the need of wage employment. It is implemented as a centrally-sponsored scheme. Food grains are provided to the states free of cost. The transportation cost, handling charges, and taxes on food grains, will, however, be the responsibility of the states.

viii. Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana :
This scheme strives to provide gainful employment to the urban unemployed and underemployed poor, through encouraging the setting up of self-employment ventures by the urban and rural poor living below the poverty line. The SJSRY scheme is being implemented on a cost-sharing basis between the centre and the states in the ratio of 75:25.

Question 5.
Perform a critical evaluation of the schemes of poverty alleviation.
Answer:
The schemes for poverty alleviation are gradually proceeding ahead.
Following are the achievements of these schemes :

1. The number of people below the poverty line has decreased. For example- in 1973-74, the poverty rate was 55 per cent which decreased to 21.8 per cent in 2004-05.
2. The income level of poor have increased vividly and hence their health proportion has also increased.
   Even with all the successes landing on the feet of poverty eradication schemes, these schemes have also not been able to achieve the desired outcome.

Following are some major reasons for this :

1. Harnessing the productive potential of its human and physical resources and generating a broad-based and equitable process of growth has remained an elusive dream for our policy makers ever since Independence.
2. No poor person can understand and work upon it. Since, poor people mostly lack leadership and initiation.
3. Due to the complex activities of the programmes, the one who manages it and also the employees cannot complete it according to the decided norms, also they do not have anything concrete to do in context to these programmes.
4. These programmes had government support, but lacked the support of general public.
5. The officers also helped only the educated, rich and non- deserving people in place of the people who were in actual need of these schemes.
6. The local and prosperous people joined hands with the programme officials and took undue advantage for their selfish self-interest. As a result, poor people could not get the deserving result.
7. The people living far away or in remote parts of the villages were deprived of these schemes, because it was difficult for the scheme officials to reach there.
8. Some people did not understand the word “poverty”. Hence, they did not enjoy the benefits of these schemes and instead the rich were enjoying these schemes.
9. The institutes providing cash schemes could not satisfy their customers.

Conclusion :
These programmes were made for the general public and for their betterment but they could not be 100% successful. Late Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi declared once that the poor people are only receiving the 15% of the welfare provided to them, the remaining is eaten by the mediators. Therefore, these schemes need to be seriously work upon. But nothing in concrete was done in this direction.

RBSE Solutions for Class 11 Economics