Q.What is meant by poverty? Explain briefly the different ways in which economists look at poverty.

Poverty means the inability of a person or household to secure the minimum basic necessities of life. Economists view it not only as a lack of income but also as a lack of basic capabilities.

Poverty is one of the central problems studied in the economics of a developing country like India, and it is a condition in which a person or household is unable to secure the minimum basic necessities of life — adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care, and education.

Economists approach poverty from more than one angle:

1. Income/consumption poverty — the traditional approach, which looks at whether a person's income or consumption expenditure is enough to buy a minimum basket of goods and services. This is the basis of India's official poverty line.
2. Capability poverty — associated with the work of Amartya Sen, this approach argues that poverty is really about a lack of basic capabilities (being well-nourished, being literate, being able to participate in society), not income alone. Two people with the same income may have very different real opportunities if one lacks access to health care or education.
3. Multidimensional poverty — a more recent approach (used by NITI Aayog's MPI) that looks at deprivation across health, education, and standard-of-living indicators simultaneously, since a household can be deprived in more than one of these dimensions at once.

All three views agree that poverty is fundamentally about deprivation relative to a minimum acceptable standard of living, even though they differ in exactly what is measured.

Students often define poverty only as "lack of money" and stop there, missing the capability and multidimensional dimensions that Gujarat board answers are expected to mention for full marks. Another common slip is confusing poverty with unemployment — the two are related causes/consequences but are not the same concept.