Poverty & Unemployment (Part – II)

Total Questions: 54

11. Which method is not used to decide the poverty line? [Chhattisgarh P.C.S. (Pre) 2005]

(a) Average per capita income
(b) Calories in food
(c) H.C.R.
(d) Literacy

Correct Answer: (d) Literacy

Solution:Literacy is not used to estimate the poverty line. Other options given in the question are used in various contexts to determine the poverty line.

12. Which of the following Committees recommended a poverty line based on nutritional requirements exclusively? [U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2020]

(a) Alagh Committee
(b) Lakdawala Committee
(c) Tendulkar Committee
(d) Rangarajan Committee

Correct Answer: (a) Alagh Committee

Solution:A task force constituted by the Planning Commission in 1977 for the purpose of poverty estimation, under the chairmanship of Dr. Y.K. Alagh, constructed a poverty line (in its report submitted in 1979) for rural and urban areas on the basis of nutritional requirements and related consumption expenditure. Nutritional requirements and related minimum consumption expenditure (i.e. poverty line) based on 1973- 74 price levels recommended by the task force were as follow:

Area	Calories	Minimum Consumption Expenditure (Rs. per capita per month)
Rural	2400	49.09
Urban	2100	56.64

13. According to the Planning Commission, how many average daily calories per person define the poverty line in urban areas? [U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2001, M.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2006]

(a) 2100
(b) 2400
(c) 2700
(d) 3000

Correct Answer: (a) 2100

Solution:The task force constituted by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of Dr. Y.K. Alagh in its report (1979) defined poverty line as the per capita consumption expendi- ture level to meet average per capita daily calorie requirement of 2400 kcal (food calories) per capita per day in rural areas and 2100 kcal per capita per day in urban areas. The average calorie requirements estimated as a population- weighted average of the Nutrition Expert Group (1968) by reference to the 1971 population Census.

14. Which one of the following per capita calorie intake has been recommeded to determine the poverty line in rural areas in India? [U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2008,]

(a) 2200
(b) 2400
(c) 2500
(d) 2600

Correct Answer: (b) 2400

Solution:The task force constituted by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of Dr. Y.K. Alagh in its report (1979) defined poverty line as the per capita consumption expenditure level to meet average per capita daily calorie requirement of 2400 kcal (food calories) per capita per day in rural areas and 2100 kcal per capita per day in urban areas. The average calorie requirements estimated as a population- weighted average of the Nutrition Expert Group (1968) by reference to the 1971 population Census.

15. Poverty in India has been defined in terms of: [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2008, U.P. Lower (Spl.) (Pre) 2008]

(a) Standard of living of the people
(b) Income of the family
(c) Calorie intake
(d) Number of members in a family

Correct Answer: (c) Calorie intake

Solution:The task force constituted by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of Dr. Y.K. Alagh in its report (1979) defined poverty line as the per capita consumption expenditure level to meet average per capita daily calorie requirement of 2400 kcal (food calories) per capita per day in rural areas and 2100 kcal per capita per day in urban areas. The average calorie requirements estimated as a population- weighted average of the Nutrition Expert Group (1968) by reference to the 1971 population Census.

16. Persons below the poverty line in India are classified an such based on whether: [I.A.S. (Pre) 1999]

(a) they are entitled to a minimum prescribed food basket
(b) they get work for a prescribed minimum number of days in a year
(c) they belong to agricultural labourers household and the scheduled caste/tribe social group
(d) their daily wages fall below the prescribed minimum wages

Correct Answer: (a) they are entitled to a minimum prescribed food basket

Solution:The task force constituted by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of Dr. Y.K. Alagh in its report (1979) defined poverty line as the per capita consumption expenditure level to meet average per capita daily calorie requirement of 2400 kcal (food calories) per capita per day in rural areas and 2100 kcal per capita per day in urban areas. The average calorie requirements estimated as a population- weighted average of the Nutrition Expert Group (1968) by reference to the 1971 population Census.

17. The Government of India constituted a committee to set new standards for the estimation of population living below the poverty line. Who was the chairman of this committee? [U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2013]

(a) Nirmala Deshpandey
(b) V. Siddharth
(c) Suresh Tendulkar
(d) Proffesor Jankiraman

Correct Answer: (c) Suresh Tendulkar

Solution:In the chairmanship of Suresh Tendulkar, the Government of India constituted a committee in 2005 to set new standards for the estimation of population living below the poverty line. The Tendulkar Committee submitted its report in 2009. The Committee suggested several changes to the way poverty was measured. Firstly, it recommended a shift away from basing the poverty lines from calorie norms used in all poverty estimates since 1979 and towards target nutritional outcomes instead. Secondly, instead of two separate poverty line baskets (PLBs) for rural and urban poverty lines, it recommended a uniform all-India PLB across rural and urban India. Thirdly, it recommended using Mixed Reference Period (MRP) based estimates, as opposed to Uniform Reference Period (URP) based estimates used in earlier methods for estimating poverty. The Tendulkar Committee validated the poverty lines by checking the adequacy of actual private consumption expenditure per capita near the poverty line on food, education and health. Instead of monthly household consumption, consumption expenditure was broken up into per person per day consumption, resulting in the figure of Rs. 32 and Rs. 26 a day for urban and rural areas respectively. The national poverty line for 2011-12 was estimated at Rs. 816 per capita per month for rural areas and Rs. 1000 per capita per month for urban areas.

18. In a given year in India, official poverty lines are higher in some States than in others because [I.A.S. (Pre) 2019]

(a) Poverty rates vary from State to State
(b) Price levels vary from State to State
(c) Gross State Product varies from State to State
(d) Quality of public distribution varies from State to State

Correct Answer: (b) Price levels vary from State to State

Solution:Suresh Tendulkar Committee computed new poverty lines for rural and urban areas of each State based on the uniform poverty line consumption basket. These poverty lines would vary from State to State because of inter-state price differentials of consumer goods and services included in the poverty line basket. Hence, in a given year in India, official poverty lines are higher in some States than in others because price levels vary from State to State.

19. According to the Planning Commission of India, which of the following are correct for the poverty line? [B. P. S.C.(Pre) 2015]

I. Rs. 42 per capita per day in Urban area

II. Rs. 26 per capita per day in Rural area

III. Rs. 32 per capita per day in Urban area

IV. Rs. 32 per capita per day in Rural area

Choose the correct option from the following:

(a) I and II
(b) I and III
(c) II and III
(d) III and IV

Correct Answer: (c) II and III

Solution:Planning Commission by using the data of NSSO's House- hold Consumer Expenditure Survey as per the Tendulkar Committee recommendation, updated the poverty ratio and poverty lines for the year 2011-12 and released the estimates of poverty for the year 2011-12, on July 22, 2013. According to these estimates, for the year 2011-12, at all India level, the poverty line for rural areas in terms of consumption expenditure has estimated at Rs. 816 per capita per month (about Rs. 26 per day) and for urban areas Rs. 1000 per capita per month (about Rs. 32 per day).

20. Which statement is not true shout the poverty estimates based on the 68th round of NSSO? [B.P.S.C. (Pre) (Re.Exam) 2022]

(a). The poverty line defined at Rs. 27.20 per capita per day for rural areas
(b) The poverty line defined at Rs. 33.33 per capita per day for urban areas.
(c) The 21.9 percent population of India was living below the poverty line.
(d) The 33.35 percent population of India was living below the poverty line.
(e) None of the above / More than one of the above

Correct Answer: (d) The 33.35 percent population of India was living below the poverty line.

Solution:On the basis of the data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) 68th round (2011), the Planning Commission had up- dated the poverty estimates for the year 2011-12 as per the methodology recommended by the Tendulkar Committee. As per these estimates for 2011-12, the national poverty line for rural areas and urban areas were estimated at Rs. 816 and Rs. 1000 per capita per month (About Rs. 27.20 and Rs. 33.33 per capita per day assuming a 30-day month), respectively, while the percentage of population below the poverty line in the country was estimated at 21.9%. Hence, statements of option (a), (b) and (c) are correct while statement of option (d) is incorrect.

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