The document discusses the causes and nature of poverty. It defines poverty as lacking basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare. The World Bank further describes poverty as hunger, lack of shelter, sickness without medical care, lack of education, unemployment, and living in fear with no future stability. The document then discusses factors that contribute to poverty in India like a rapidly growing population, low agricultural productivity, underutilized resources, slow economic growth, rising prices, unemployment, lack of capital and entrepreneurship, and social and political factors like the backward social system and British colonial exploitation. It also outlines government programs aimed at reducing poverty through employment generation and development initiatives.

2. Poverty is not having enough money to meet basic needs -
food, clothing and shelter. However, poverty is more, much
more than just not having enough money.
The World Bank describes poverty as:
“poverty is hunger. poverty is lack of
shelter. Poverty is being sick and not
being able to see a doctor. Poverty is
not having access to school and not
knowing how to read. Poverty is not
having a job, is fear for the future, living
one day at a time.”

3. Relative Poverty
The economic
conditions of different
regions or countries is
compared. The capita
income and the national
income are the two
indicators of relative
poverty. According to
the UNO those
countries are treated
poor whose per capita
income is less than US
$725 per annum.
Absolute poverty
refers to the
measure of poverty ,
keeping in view the
per capita intake of
calories and minimum
level of consumption
.
per capita income :
National income
Population
Absolute Poverty

4. Rapidly Rising Population:
The population during the last 45 years has increased
at the rate of 2.2% per annum. On average 17 million
people are added every year to its population which
raises the demand for consumption goods
considerably.
Low Productivity in Agriculture:
The level of productivity in agriculture is low due to
subdivided and fragmented holdings, lack of
capital, use of traditional methods of
cultivation, illiteracy etc. This is the main cause of
poverty in the country.

5. Under Utilized Resources:
The existence of under employment and disguised
unemployment of human resources and under
utilization of resources has resulted in low production
in agricultural sector. This brought a down fall in
their standard of living.
Low Rate of Economic Development:
The rate of economic development in India has been
below the required level. Therefore, there persists a
gap between level of availability and requirements of
goods and services. The net result is poverty.

6. Price Ri$e:
The continuous and steep price rise has added to the
miseries of poor. It has benefited a few people in the
society and the persons in lower income group find it
difficult to get their minimum needs.
Unemployment:
The continuously expanding army of unemployed
is another cause of poverty. The job seeker is
increasing in number at a higher rate than the
expansion in employment opportunities.

7. Shortage of Capital and Able Entrepreneurship:
Capital and able entrepreneurship have important
role in accelerating the growth. But these are in
short supply making it difficult to increase
production significantly.
Social Factors:
The social set up is still backward and is not
conducive to faster development. Laws of
inheritance, caste system, traditions and
customs are putting hindrances in the way
of faster development and have aggravate"
the problem of poverty.

8. Political Factors:
The Britishers started lopsided development in
India and reduced Indian economy to a colonial
state. They exploited the natural resources to
suit their interests and weaken the industrial
base of Indian economy.
In independent India, the development plans have
been guided by political interests. Hence, the
planning a failure to tackle the problems of
poverty and unemployment.

10. The Government, of India took certain measures to reduce
poverty, inequality of income and wealth in its five year plan
periods. Followings are some steps taken by the Government,
from time to time.
 Integrated Rural Development Programme(IRDP)
 National Rural Employment Programme (NREP)
 Rural Landless Employment Guarantee
Programme (RLEGP)

11.  Jawahar Rozgar Yojana
 Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment
 Development of Women and Children.
 Drought Prone Area Programme
 Desert Development Programme
 Minimum Needs Programme
 Employee Guarantee Scheme

12.  Employment Exchanges
 Development of Animal Husbandry and Agriculture
 Employment Assurance Scheme
 Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY)
 Prime Minister's Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication
Program (PMIUPEP)
 Self-Employment Programmes
 The Swaran Jayanti Rozgar Yojana
 Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana
 Antyodya Anna Yojana.

14. Referred websites –
WWW.Preservearticles .com
WWW .Slide share.com
WWW.Google images.com