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According to the report published by the Economic Advisory Committee to PM, Poverty has declined across all religious and social groups across India, reflecting inclusive growth and effective welfare under the Modi government from 2011-12 to 2023-24.

About Poverty rate

When someone is poor, they cannot afford basic things like food, clothes, or education. It also stops people from improving their social status or living with dignity.

Poverty line is used to measure poverty. It is a minimum amount of money a person needs every month to live a basic life. For example, For 2011-12, the Rangarajan committee decided what a poor person spends on food, clothing, rent, and other needs. They used this data to set a poverty line. Then, the government updated this line for 2023-24 using price changes.

Poverty declined

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Overall, there has been a decline in poverty across India in the last 12 years. In rural areas, poverty declined from 30.4%  to 3.9%, while in urban areas, it declined from 26.4% to 3.9%.

Poverty reduced among Hindus and Muslims

In villages: In 2011-12, 31.7% of Muslim families were poor, compared to 30.9% of Hindu families. By 2023-24, only 2.4% of Muslim families and 4% of Hindu families were poor. So, Muslims improved more.

In cities: In 2011-12, 39.4% of Muslims were poor, while 24.4% of Hindus were poor. By 2023-24, this gap closed. Only 5.7% of Muslims and 3.7% of Hindus were poor.

Poverty declined among SCs, STs, OBCs, and the General category

• Scheduled Tribes (ST) -> In rural areas, poverty fell from 49.5% in 2011-12 to 12.2% in 2023-24.
• Scheduled Castes (SC): In urban areas, 39.6% of SCs were poor in 2011-12, but by 2023-24, only 6.6% were poor.
• Other Backward Classes (OBC): Their poverty rate fell from 30.4% to just 3.6%.
• General Category: Even the General category saw a drop in poverty, though their numbers were always lower compared to SCs, STs, and OBCs.

The gap between these groups and the General category also became smaller. For example, in 2011-12, STs were 29.5% more likely to be poor than the General category. By 2023-24, this gap was only 10.6%.

Initiatives by the Government

• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): Farmers get ₹6,000 per year to help with farming costs.
• Ayushman Bharat: Free health insurance for poor families.
• Jan Dhan Yojana: Bank accounts for everyone, including the poor, so they can save money and access loans.
• Ujjwala Yojana: Free LPG gas connections for poor families to replace unhealthy cooking methods like wood fires.

Way Forward

While poverty has gone down, some groups like STs and SCs still have higher poverty rates than the General category. Reducing poverty is not enough; people need good jobs and opportunities to stay out of poverty. For example, if someone gets free food but cannot find work, they might slip back into poverty. So, the government needs to focus on creating long-term solutions like better education and jobs.

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Source:

INDIAN EXPRESS

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