Economics · Ch 5 — Poverty
The Poverty Line in India
The Poverty Line in India
The poverty line is the officially defined minimum level of income or consumption expenditure that is considered necessary to satisfy the basic needs of an individual. Any person whose income/consumption falls below this line is classified as poor, or Below Poverty Line (BPL); a person above it is classified as Above Poverty Line (APL).
India's approach to estimating the poverty line has evolved through several official committees appointed by the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog). The Gujarat Std-12 Economics syllabus expects a student to know the broad basis of estimation used by the major committees, along with approximate figures:
| Committee / Basis | Approx. Year | Method used | Approx. rural poverty line (₹ per capita per month) | Approx. urban poverty line (₹ per capita per month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alagh Committee | 1979 | Minimum calorie norm — 2,400 kcal (rural) / 2,100 kcal (urban) per person per day | — | — |
| Lakdawala Committee | 1993 | Calorie-based, with state-specific price indices | — | — |
| Tendulkar Committee | 2009 (data year 2011–12) | Moved from a pure calorie norm to a broader consumption basket (food, education, health, clothing) | Approx. ₹816 | Approx. ₹1,000 |
| Rangarajan Committee | 2014 | Recommended a somewhat higher consumption basket than Tendulkar | Approx. ₹972 | Approx. ₹1,407 |
(Figures above are the widely reported approximate official estimates for the reference years shown; a student should quote the year alongside any figure, since the poverty line is revised periodically and is not a fixed number.) …
The officially estimated minimum level of per-capita income or consumption expenditure required to meet basic needs; households below this line are classified …
A measure of poverty that looks beyond income alone, capturing deprivation across health, education, and standard-of-living ind …