Poverty Estimates in India – Some Issues in Estimation and Policy

The Planning Commission made a declaration that the poverty in India has reduced to 22%. This estimate of poverty has stirred up a huge controversy on how to measure poverty. This paper defines who the poor are in the first instance. It then moves on to look at the recent estimates of poverty and looks for reasons as to why poverty has declined. The reasons for increase in poverty have also been identified. It also looks at the some of the myths in methodology of estimating poverty. It then looks at the history of estimating poverty in India from the pre-independence time to the present. The World Bank approach has also been looked at.