Dynamics of rural poverty in undivided Andhra Pradesh

There is an opinion that the Telangana region of the undivided AP has been neglected by the then state government and it remains backward since decades. This article examines the claim of economic development of both the states by looking into the rural poverty in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, the newly formed states of undivided Andhra Pradesh, since post-reform. Hence the major proposition which the article raises is; which regions and which class (occupation groups and land holding groups) are more poverty ridden in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) unit level data for 50^th, 61^st and 68^th rounds Consumption Expenditure Survey (CES) has been used for the analysis. Telangana state has seen a lower level of poverty and faster reduction in poverty in the post-reform period in comparison to Andhra Pradesh. The 1^st period (1993–94 to 2004–05) has seen a slow reduction in poverty while the 2^nd period (2004–05 to 2011–12) witness a higher decline in poverty in both the regions. The decline in poverty is higher among the rural nonfarm sector. Andhra Pradesh constitutes around 70% of the total poor. In the 1^st period, there is a labor mobility from farm to nonfarm sector, while the 2^nd period witnesses mobility of labor within farm sector in Telangana and from farm to nonfarm sector in Andhra Pradesh. The 1^st period has seen high growth in real MPCE among the nonfarm occupation groups while the 2^nd period witnesses a growth in MPCE both in rural farm and nonfarm sector. The decomposition of poverty shows it's the growth of MPCE which results in a higher poverty reduction as inequality has seen rising trends in the post-reform period which offset the poverty reduction.