Anti-poverty strategy needed urgently

Poverty is the issue. Prime Minister Modi struck the right chord at his meeting in eastern UP’s Ballia district, a region with one of the highest number of people below the poverty line. Undeniably, this is an opportunity to reshape India’s economy and kick-start the process for ending disparity and inequality to achieve development of the country.

True, the abysmal state of affairs can be ascribed to historical reasons but that does not justify a national under-performance for 69 years. Notably, the Prime Minister has taken many initiatives including Jan Dhan, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Sukanya Smariddhi Yojana, Kisan Bima Yojna, Atal Pension Plan, PM Jeevan Jyoti Jeevan Bima Yojana, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), PM Awas Yojana, Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAYA).

There are also schemes which are long-term like Make in India, StartUp India, Stand Up India and Skill India. As these take shape, it would help the poor eventually. But we need to understand Modi was talking about those who are at bottom of the poverty line. Certainly, there are many categories of poor and thanks to various policies in the last decade from 2004-14, many middle class families too have slipped to the edge of the poverty line.

Yet, those at the bottom of the poverty pyramid need a sympathetic approach. Given that a BPL card is now considered a status symbol in rural areas, and those who have it are considered better off. Besides, the erstwhile Planning Commission’s definition of poverty as people with per capita expenditure of Rs 26 in rural areas and Rs 32 in urban areas cannot be the yardstick. Nor can the calculation at calorific values be.

Significantly, the official numbers of the poor are staggering – 240 million rural and 72 million urban poor – but they do not tell the full story of change. For instance, social indicators of well-being record a history of progress that has, like the decline of poverty itself, been slow.

While economic inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient within regions varies little from the poorest regions to the more fortunate, but it does not capture the gender and social inequalities which persist in India. These disparities severely constrain the extent to which certain groups are able to participate in and benefit from the process of economic growth.

This requires a thorough study. And a break from the past in definition, approach and action is the need of the hour. The Modi government is credited with innovative ideas but it has to make the process of studying poverty not as a mere statistical data but as a socio-economic problem which is different in different areas. The indicator has to reflect this.

Clearly, the 1991 so-called reforms have not led to improvements in the living standards of the 40 crore poor. Add to this, agriculture which is the mainstay and backbone of India’s economy is in shambles. Consequently, this has led to clogging of the progress path of the rural and urban poor.

The last five years have shown the growth rates India could achieve with market oriented development policies and better integration with the world economy. But the benefit of this growth has not reached the larger population.

Questionably, expensive education from primary levels has led to emergence of a generation of moderately employed parents who remain half fed or often unfed. This creates great economic danger. Poor parents can hardly have strong children.

Sadly, this syndrome has spread to every sphere of life. Market means exploitation and profiteering. This is accentuated by the poverty syndrome. Therefore the study on poverty has to go beyond the classical routine to include new pastures.

In sum, India urgently needs to formulate an anti-poverty strategy that is finely targeted to those who truly cannot benefit from the opportunities offered by growth. Modi must focus on prosperity of the poor for a strong India – sammridhh janata sashakt Bharat.

By Shivaji Sarkar