Class: XII
General studies
CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS OF INDIAN
SOCIETY

CONTENTS
Poverty
Illiteracy
Unemployment
Social Inequalities
Population and health

 India emerged as an independent nation-state on 15th August 1947, after a long struggle against the British
colonial rule. The country is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic with a parliamentary system of
government. Though India has shown tremendous growth in all spheres of national life in the years after
independence, yet many problems plague the everyday social life; the problems, many a time, are interrelated. In
fact every society of the world has their social issues unique to their society. So does Indian society. Indian
society is very rooted in religious beliefs; there are people of different religious beliefs such as Hindus, Muslims,
Jains, Sikhs, Parsis etc. These all adds to the socio-cultural varieties of the country. India’s social problems are
also rooted in the religious practices and beliefs of it people. Almost all forms of social issues and problems find
their origin in the religious and cultural practices of the people of India. These social problems are developed in
a long period of times and are still continuing in one form or other. Furthermore, India has witnessed several
wars of large proportions; several foreign invaders attacked India in its long history among whom few made this
country as their own and tried to force their socio-religious practices which also deteriorated social conditions;
the long period of British rule crippled the country and had thrown it into backwardness. Thus, many such
reasons may be cited for India’s social problems but the fact remains that we have these issues and only we can
solve them. Poverty, Population, Illiteracy, Gender discrimination, Terrorism, Unemployment, and Health are the
major ones.
#Introduction :

01 Poverty

 Poverty refers to a situation when peopl’s basic needs are not fulfilled. When people doesn’t have the
necessary food to eat or clothes to wear or shelter to stay then its called poverty. Life becomes very difficult for
people below the poverty line (BPL).
 Poverty is a vicious circle and is the lack of money or material possessions. Social, political, as well as economic
elements, contribute to poverty. It leads to a lack of basic life necessities and comfort. Illiteracy is a major cause
and effect of poverty. These people have a low standard of living and poverty is the cause of many social evils.
#Meaning :
#Genesis :
 People dont get proper education which leads to poverty. People are poor because they are illiterate, and they
are illiterate because they cannot afford education.Illiteracy and poverty stays side-by-side. They both are the
cause and effect of each other.
 In case where the resources and opportunities are limited and the population is high, there arises a situation of
joblessness which ultimately leads to poverty.
 When a large number of people live in poverty, there is limited scope for the development of countrys economy.
 Some natural and environmental problems such as lack of rainfall, drought, etc. often lead to poverty. There are
many other reasons also like caste system, unemployment, etc.

#Broad measures to alleviate it :
#Nature of poverty in rural and urban India :
Rural India Urban India
Rural poverty often stems from limited access to
markets, education, quality infrastructure,
employment opportunities, health, and financial
products.
Urban poverty is often marred by weak or hazardous
living conditions related to sanitation, employment,
and personal security.
Most of the world’s poorest live in rural areas.
Roughly two out of three people living in extreme
poverty live in rural settings.
some 400 million rural men and women live in
extreme poverty, more than the populations of the
United States and Canada combined. At the same
time, roughly half that amount (approximately 200
million) live in cities.
Rural poverty is often a product of poor infrastructure
that hinders development and mobility.
Urban poverty refers to the set of economic and social
difficulties that are found in industrialized cities
 Poverty can be checked by increasing job opportunities. It will decrease the rate of unemployment which
ultimately results in decrease of poverty in economy.
 Government should take more steps towards charity, trusts and have some transparency while spending money
in those social institutions.
 There is a need for initiatives of paid leave to the workers.
 The education system should be reformed and initiatives should be taken to bring more children to schools

02 Illiteracy

 Since many adults in India are illiterate, they don’t understand the importance of getting education for their
children.
 Due to the problem of unemployment and poverty, children get little opportunity for proper education.
 Many people stay illiterate due to some physical or mental disabilities.
 Other social evils like caste system, gender inequality also cause illiteracy
#Causes :
#Consequences :
 One of the major causefor crimes is illiteracy. Due to illiteracy issue, rates of crime are gradually increasing and
health, productivity and growth of the country is gradually decreasing.
 Most illiterate people are unaware of the benefits of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.
 Illiterate people find it very difficulty to secure a good job and earn livelihood.If a person is looking for a means
to earn and work, but is not getting it then it is known as unemployment. This social problem leads to frustration.
 Overpopulation is a huge increase in the number of people, and it is caused by some factors out of which
illiteracy is a major one.

 The only and the best way to eradicate illiteracy from the society are by education.
 The scheme for mid-day meals at schools is a welcome step.
 Government should take steps to promote free education for the backward class of the society in government
schools.
 Government also look at the matter that people get fair payment for their work. Appropriate steps should be
taken to create moreemployment opportunities for adults, so that they can educate their children by sending
them to school.
#Measures to eradicate illiteracy:

03 Unemployment

 Unemployment, may be elaborated as a state of not finding work by an individual who is
fit and willinUneg to work.
 The number of individuals without work out of the total “labour force” of the country or
specific social groups.
# Meaning
# Genesis
 Unemployment rate of a country is indicative of its socio-economic health
 Unemployed contributs to bringing down demand of goods in the market and creating more
unemployment.
 This vicious cycle creates a cascading effect throughout the economy and trickles down to
different social strata.
 According to UNDP, the Indian economy has experienced a massive growth, but still even
barely 50% of the jod seekers are able to land one

 There are many causes of unemployment some them are listed below:
 Education: Although literacy rates have risen in the last few decades, The curriculum is
mostly theory-oriented and fails to provide vocational training required to match up with
current economic environment.
 Population growth: Rapid growth of population has often been labelled as the major reason
for increasing unemployment in the country. Current survey data revealed that at the all-
India level, 77% of families do not have a regular salaried person.
 Faulty employment planning : The five-year plans implemented by the government have not
contributed proportionately towards generation of employment. The assumption was that
growth in economy will automatically generate enough employment, but there have remained
gaps between the required number of jobs and the actual numbers generated.
# Causes

04 Social Inequalities

05 Population and health

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THANK YOU
Riyan Roy
Ayush Pandey Jagdish Patel