Assessment of Poverty Alleviation Programs in India by Central and State Government

DR. Umesh Chandra Yadav
DR. Devendra Awasthi
Economics Department, VSSD College, Kanpur

Eradication of Poverty remains a major challenge for planned economic development of our country. Various development strategies were adopted by different states during the plan period. There were many states like Punjab and Haryana who followed the path of agricultural growth and succeeded in reduction of poverty. While some other states like Kerala followed the path of human resource development. There are some states like Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal that made efforts to reduce their poverty by direct public intervention in the form of public distribution of food grains and other necessities.
According to the World Bank , poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and is comprised of many dimensions.The following facts are worth mentioning:
– In India 21.9% of the population lives below the national poverty line in 2011.
– In 2018, almost 8% of the world’s working population and their families lived on less than 1.90 per person per day of earnings. (International poverty line).

The above figure demonstrate the poverty trap prevailing in the developing countries like India.In India low income leads to low savings and investment levels finally leading to low economic growth.On the other side, low levels of education and health standards lead to declining human capital leading to low productivity and finally low income .The role of pverty alleviation programmes is essential to break this poverty trap and undertake the path of sustainable development.

The above illustration demonstrates the various approach for dealing the inequality, poverty and vulnerability issues.The Physiological deprivation can be handled by income and Basic Needs approach while Human Poverty Approach ,Social Exclusion Approach and PPA Approach can be use to handle social deprivation
Research Methodology:-
The research paper tries to summarize the current state of knowledge about poverty related problems which affect the population directly and indirectly. It also assesses the national policies/programmes which aim at eradicating poverty in India. The paper has utilized the secondary data which is collected via sources such as Niti Aayog’s reports on poverty alleviation programs, Economic Survey, books and various journals.
Poverty Estimates in India:-
Poverty Estimate in India is done by Niti Aayog’s task force through the calculation of NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation.
– Poverty estimation in India is based on the consumption expenditure and not on the income levels.
– The incidence of poverty measured by the number of poor to the total population is expressed as a percentage. It also known as Head count Ratio.
The following diagram shows the relationship between income (NSDP) per capita at constant prices, spliced series (INR)) and poverty (head count ratio) in Indian States:

Relation between Income (NSDP per capita at constant prices, spliced series (INR)) and Poverty (head count ratio) in Indian States.

Relationship between Inequality (Gini based on consumption) and Poverty (head count ratio) in Indian States.

The above diagram demonstrates the relationship between inequality (GiniCoeff. based on consumption) and poverty (head count ratio) in indian states.

The above chart shows that poor population as a percentage of total population in India according to Rangarajan methodology ,Tendulkar methodology,World Bank methodology (a &b) are 29.5;21.9;21.2;12.4 respectively.

Expenditure in various sectors : The following table shows the rends in Social Service Expenditure by Central Government (Combined Center and States) for the period 2014 to 2020(BE):-
Trends in Social Service Expenditure by Central Government (Combined Center and States)

Poverty Alleviation Programs in India
Following are the important Poverty Alleviation Programs operated in India;-
Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP):-
It was introduced in 1978-1979 and universalized form 2nd October 1980, aimed at providing assistance to the rural poor in the form of subsidy and Bank Credit for productive employment opportunities through successive plan periods.
Jawahar Rojgar Yojna (JRY):-
JRY was launched as centrally sponsored scheme on 1st April 1989 by merging National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP). Its main objective was generation of additional gainful employment for the unemployed and under-employed people in rural areas.
Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana:-
Under Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JGSY) an overriding priority was given to creating wage employment and on launched in 1 April 1999.
Annapurna Yojana:-
The scheme was initiated on 1st April 2000. It is a 100% centrally sponsored plan. It involves those citizens who come under old age pension scheme yet do not get any pension and 10Kgs of food grains free of cost is given to each individuals.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA):-
MGNREGA was started in 2006-07 and extended to cover the whole Country. MGNREGA has directly led to the creation of 987 crore person days of work since its inception in 2006-07

State level Initiatives :-
Several Governments have initiated their own rural development programme. Apart from Central Government programmes, several State Governments initiated their own rural development programmes.

Suggestions :-
Following suggestion s can be given to policy makers to strengthen the mechanism of poverty alleviation in India;-
– Direct income transfer to needy for an immediate solution.
– By improving social infrastructure and job opportunities in rural areas so that migration will be decreased and hence urban poverty can also be decreased.
– Investment in infrastructure overall is needed to reduce the cost of utilities.
– Realistic measurement of the present situation of poverty.
Conclusion:-
Sustainable and continuous economic growth is the long term solution for the eradication of poverty. We need to increase the expenditure on education, infrastructure and health in urban areas as well as rural areas through various schemes and also focus on the implementation of the policies whilst time by time central and state government also have to develop a strong and effective monitoring system to stop the pilferage of the valuable resources.
References:-
1- Various Niti Aayog reports
2- Different issues of Economic survey of India
3- World bank report on poverty
4- Poverty alleviation editorial – The Hindu
5- Poverty programs editorial – Economic Times
6- NSSO surveys