Q.State any four measures/programmes undertaken by the Government of India to reduce poverty, with the specific problem each one targets.

Government measures target different links in the poverty cycle — employment, food, housing, and savings/credit.

Four government measures/programmes to reduce poverty in India, each targeting a different link in the poverty cycle (any four of the following are acceptable):

1. MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005) — legally guarantees a minimum number of days of paid unskilled manual work per year to every rural household that demands it, directly targeting the unemployment-poverty link.
2. Public Distribution System (PDS), strengthened under the National Food Security Act, 2013 — supplies subsidised foodgrain through ration shops, targeting the food-security/malnutrition consequence of poverty.
3. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) — aims to provide pucca housing to eligible poor households, targeting the poor-housing consequence of poverty.
4. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana — aims to give every household a basic bank account, insurance, and credit access, targeting the low-savings/low-investment link in the vicious circle of poverty. …