Poverty Eradication - India

[grey boy 2]

Development India, China Fight Poverty, Population Growth.

A pretty interesting article.

ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47652

 

[EjazR]

Some schemes that are being run by GoI to alleviate poverty

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is a massive city modernisation scheme launched by Government of India. It envisages a total investment of over $20 billion over a period of 5-6 years. It aims to reduce the poverty levels in city and provide basic services
http://www.jnnurm.nic.in/


The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is an Indian job guarantee scheme, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005. The NREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
This act was introduced with an aim of improving the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living in rural India, whether or not they are below the poverty line. Roughly one-third of the stipulated work force must be women.
NREGA(National Rural Employment Gurantee Act)

National Health Insurance Scheme (RSBY): health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families using smart cards.
::RSBY::

These are some active programs that are being run by the GoI. As citizens we should use the Right to Information Act and ask the local collector, districts office to publish accounts of these public schemes. I know many friends who have used RTI to expose corruption and improve efficiency of these schemes.

So I suggest to all Indian citizens, if they can, to use RTI whenever you can to make these schemes efficient and hopefully alleviate poverty . In my opinion this is the biggest action we can take against corrupt administration officials.
RTI India - Complete Online Community Portal for Right to Information

 

[EjazR]

India set to measure poverty beyond food: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

India is likely to switch to a new method of estimating poverty, which includes total expenditure required by families on clothes, housing, health, education and conveyance apart from adequate food, which was until now the sole criterion for determining poverty.

Planning Commission member Abhjit Sen said this gives a more realistic picture of the poverty level as the earlier estimates were based only on the food calorie intake of a person.

Sen said the new method uses the lifestyle of the urban housheholds as a benchmark for the rural families as well since they also need to spend on health, education, clothes, transport and housing.

Estimates, for the year 2003- 04, using the new method show that a whopping 41.8 per cent of the country's rural population live below the poverty line based on the wider criteria.

According to the earlier estimate for the year, based only on the food intake criterion, 28.3 per cent of the rural population lived below the poverty line.

The new methodology to arrive at the new estimates has been introduced by an expert group headed by Professor

Suresh Tendulkar, former chairman of the Prime Minister's advisory council. The expert group has recommended that the new method be adopted for arriving at fresh estimates of poverty keeping in mind that the rural poor need more than food alone to sustain a decent livelihood.

The new method for calculating urban poverty also show a higher estimate of 27.5 per cent for the population below the poverty line but this is much closer to the 25.7 per cent estimated using the old method. The all- India headcount according to the new method is that 37.5 per cent of the country's population is below the poverty line compared to 27.5 per cent earlier.

Planning Commission member Mihir Shah who has done extensive studies on rural India is also in favour of adopting the new method. He said the methodology provides a more accurate picture of the ground realities and will help policy makers to draw up better plans to tackle it.

The expert group which submitted its report to Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday has also pointed out that its report does not imply that the proportion of poor people in the country has not declined over the years. THE report points out that if the 1993- 94 poverty levels in the country are estimated using the new method it runs out to be 50.1 per cent in rural areas, 31.8 per cent in urban areas and 45.3 per cent in the country as a whole as compared to the 1993- 94 official estimates of 37.2 per cent rural, 32.6 per cent urban and 36.0 per cent combined.

" Even though the suggested new methodology gives a higher estimate of rural headcount

ratio at the all- India level for 2004- 05, the extent of poverty reduction in comparable percentage point decline between 1993- 94 and 2004- 05 is not different from that inferred using the old methodology," the report points out.

Sen said the expert group has recommended a threshold level of Rs 460 per head per month to define poverty which works out to Rs 2,300 per family.

For urban households the threshold level has been fixed at Rs 3,000 per family or Rs 590 per month per person. The new methodology will be discussed in the planning commission which may make some changes to improve it and then it will be for the government to take the final call on the issue, Sen added.

 

[Iggy]

high level education is always the shortest way,no one knows this better than Japan,india is lack of resources,you will get all the answer from their experience

Mate education not alone can irradicate poverty..In my state we have 93% literates and large number of degree holders and if you see the colleges of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka large number of Keralites are there for engg..and MBBS mind it same number of students are also here in Kerala Universities and Colleges..

To eradicate poverty we need to encourage more Industries by reducing the interest rates of the banks..There are lots of Indians in Gulf countries and Western nations..Their money is in our banks ..If they start business instead of depositing in banks it will allow large number of employment opportunities which will help irradication of poverty to a large extent but govt has to help them and encourage them to invest in business ..

 

[Dawkins]

Poverty is here to stay .. more or less shall be determined. The crux of the problem lies in the center of the country, where fertility rates approach 4 and per capita income is the lowest. One cannot fight the problem because of the simple fact of high fertility rates.

It is good to have a sensible health minister in Ghulam Nabi Azad, who brought back the focus on population control. Even then, his actions are limited within the walls of democracy.

Some serious legislation needs to be passed on population control, enuf of the bragging of the democracy. Very soon the problems like MNS will multiply in various states when the poor of the under-developed states move (they already do) to the developing states in large numbers. And these will be in addition to the usual food/water/infrastructure/power etc problems that already affect us.

 

[gogbot]

Don't be so defeatist.

Poverty can be eradicated, with effort.

People need education.
People need to know their rights.
People need access to Information networks
Economy needs to provide jobs.
Economy needs to support small and large scale entrepreneurship

Vigilant and reliable Police force, is a must.

And the end all for poverty.
when we can afford it
Social security. Guaranteeing citizens a Minimum standard of life.
Expensive but necessary.

as well as certain
Universal social services.
like Universal Health care.

 

[gogbot]

Poverty is here to stay .. more or less shall be determined. The crux of the problem lies in the center of the country, where fertility rates approach 4 and per capita income is the lowest. One cannot fight the problem because of the simple fact of high fertility rates.

It is good to have a sensible health minister in Ghulam Nabi Azad, who brought back the focus on population control. Even then, his actions are limited within the walls of democracy.

Some serious legislation needs to be passed on population control, enuf of the bragging of the democracy. Very soon the problems like MNS will multiply in various states when the poor of the under-developed states move (they already do) to the developing states in large numbers. And these will be in addition to the usual food/water/infrastructure/power etc problems that already affect us.

Why the Euphamisms. What your suggesting violates our basic Human rights.

We need to make people more aware of the economic implications of having more children. in the long run

If they still choose to have kids that's their decision.

We will adapt, that's what we do best. we will find a way to deal with growing populations.

we will meet their food needs with genetic crops.
We will build our cites taller
we will Build more small communities

There are always ways to solve our problems just because they are hard, doesn't mean we have to sacrifice a piece of our self and take the easy way out.

 

[saurabh]

There is a small slum area near my house. The place is extremely dirty as anyone can expect. The dwellers don't get properly nourishing food, rags as cloths, living condition as you all can imagine. On the other hand, I have seen lot many of them using mobile, have color televisions. And many drink heavily too, regularly. So it makes it ambiguous question, whether or not they are poor, and poor on what basis.

 

[rajeev]

There is a small slum area near my house. The place is extremely dirty as anyone can expect. The dwellers don't get properly nourishing food, rags as cloths, living condition as you all can imagine. On the other hand, I have seen lot many of them using mobile, have color televisions. And many drink heavily too, regularly. So it makes it ambiguous question, whether or not they are poor, and poor on what basis.

ditto! I have seen the samething in Mumbai. Daravi people having protests that don't want free homes. They want to live dirtly. What can we say? At some point, you got to say it is their choice.

Now poverty reduction in rural areas - that is a different matter. I have heard of cases in Vidarbah region in Maharashtra where farmers committed suicide because of the lack of money. I think the government if it wants can do some of these I list below and hopefully to try to get ahead:
a. Change the rules for farm ownership. Rich should be allowed to buy these small acre farms.
b. Some of these farmers should to be given work in nearby city. In most cities in India people are better off. What I mean by work is work like 100-day work programs that should be used by the local govt. ( and not federal or state) deciding on where they want to deploy them - building roads, bridges, hospitals, etc.
c. free education should be made required. More than man, more incentive should be provided to women for education like paying them to be there and for taking exams. (If a women in the home is educated, her future generation tends to remain educated)

 

[gogbot]

There is a small slum area near my house. The place is extremely dirty as anyone can expect. The dwellers don't get properly nourishing food, rags as cloths, living condition as you all can imagine. On the other hand, I have seen lot many of them using mobile, have color televisions. And many drink heavily too, regularly. So it makes it ambiguous question, whether or not they are poor, and poor on what basis.

well what is poverty to you.
Must people live on the edge of desperation, before u classify them poor. and in need of help.

The government must ensure that all its citizens, are provided the bare minimum, social services.

And ensure that all their basic human rights are met.

 

[Dawkins]

Why the Euphamisms. What your suggesting violates our basic Human rights.

We need to make people more aware of the economic implications of having more children. in the long run

If they still choose to have kids that's their decision.

We will adapt, that's what we do best. we will find a way to deal with growing populations.

we will meet their food needs with genetic crops.
We will build our cites taller
we will Build more small communities

There are always ways to solve our problems just because they are hard, doesn't mean we have to sacrifice a piece of our self and take the easy way out.

If we are to allow people to make all their decisions, there may come a time when there are no human rights left to violate. The issue is urgent and needs drastic measures. The planet and particularly our limited landmass can support a limited number of people with a certain standard of living. Beyond that as our population keeps growing, deforestation and pollution rise rapidly. The effects of these can only be imagined. Each and every natural resource gets scarce and pricier, conflicts at multiple levels of society shall emerge.

Its all well and good to say we can solve our problems through technology. The truth of the matter is technology can help us to a limit, beyond which nature's laws of struggle for existence and survival of the fittest take over.

 

[deckingraj]

What can we say? At some point, you got to say it is their choice.

Rajeev brother nothing against you but i believe it this attitude of us and they which is one of the reasons....For years knowingly-unknowingly we have discriminated against the poor...Anyways let me reply back to post#15 and then will dwell more into it...

 

[deckingraj]

So 1 Billion INdian if educated there will be no poverty ?

No sir...there is nothing like that...However if 1 billon is educated then we have higher probablity of defeating this menace...Here is someone beautifully said..

"Knowledge by itself has no value, it is like a dictionary filled with words. Words by themselves have no value, it is the process of stringing them together that gives them value. How they are strung together determines the level of value"

So in short even if you educate someone that don't count...However what count is how he/she is going to use them to generate value out of it....However you are defnitely increasing their chances/potential to succeed in life by educating them...Don't you think so????

What is decent life ? The villagers who earn less than 2$ per day have a much more decent life than you think.

This is very subjective question...A decent life can vary from living in a mansion to one room house with a meagre income...However when it comes to poor a decent life can be a confidence that i have enough to ensure food, clothes,education and a house for my family...

What will happen if a Billion people work ?

Our country will write the future of the world...However larger question is what kind of work...If both making a house and someone breaking it are considered work then we are at ground zero....

I have adopted a kid.

I really appreciate your effort...If possible and your income allows please adopt one more....Not only that if you already not then please share with your friends/family members/colleagues of how they can help in this noble cause..

 

[rajeev]

Rajeev brother nothing against you but i believe it this attitude of us and they which is one of the reasons....For years knowingly-unknowingly we have discriminated against the poor...Anyways let me reply back to post#15 and then will dwell more into it...

Have you seen the Dharavi results? People really dont want to move! For goodness sake, govt and builders offered them homes and better infrastructure, but still dont want to move. So what can any one do?

# Force them? Are we China?
# Build an exclusive bangalow in the prime location for not agreeing.

None of these seem feasible to me. Let me know what you would do if you had all the powers of Maharashtra CM.

 

[deckingraj]

Have you seen the Dharavi results? People really dont want to move! For goodness sake, govt and builders offered them homes and better infrastructure, but still dont want to move. So what can any one do?

# Force them? Are we China?
# Build an exclusive bangalow in the prime location for not agreeing.

None of these seem feasible to me. Let me know what you would do if you had all the powers of Maharashtra CM.

Buddy you missed my point...I was only talking about "Us and Them" phrase...DISCRIMINATION...Was not going into reasoning...But are you saying that those people like to live in dirt??? I get it when you say they don't want to move but may i ask why you think they don't want to move???

I am not sure about the reasoning but if i have the powers of CM i would like to know the reasons as to why people in Dharavi don't want to move and then with in my jurisdiction would try to solve those concerns...Is this because they love dirt(even stupid to think off) or the accommodations that are being provided are not good enough - not easily accessible ...will hurt their jobs etc etc....