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Poverty in India is widespread, and a variety of methods have been proposed to measure it. The official measure of Indian government, before 2005, was based on food security and it was defined from per capita expenditure for a person to consume enough calories and be able to pay for associated essentials to survive. Since 2005, Indian government adopted the Tendulkar methodology which moved away from calorie anchor to a basket of goods and used rural, urban and regional minimum expenditure per capita necessary to survive.〔(Methodology for identification of families living below the poverty line ) Planning Commission, Government of India (2012)〕 The World Bank has similarly revised its definition and benchmarks to measure poverty since 1990, with $1.25 per day income on purchasing power parity basis as the definition in use from 2005 to 2013.〔 Some semi-economic and non-economic indices have also been proposed to measure poverty in India; for example, the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index placed 33% weight on number of years spent in school and education and 6.25% weight on financial condition of a person, in order to determine if that person is poor.〔 The different definitions and different underlying small sample surveys used to determine poverty in India, have resulted in widely different estimates of poverty from 1950s to 2010s. In 2012, the Indian government stated 21.9% of its population is below its official poverty limit.〔 The World Bank, in 2011 based on 2005's PPPs International Comparison Program,〔(World Bank’s $1.25/day poverty measure- countering the latest criticisms ) The World Bank (2010)〕 estimated 23.6% of Indian population, or about 276 million people, lived below $1.25 per day on purchasing power parity.〔Note: 24.6% rate is based on 2005 PPP at $1.25 per day, International dollar basis, 〕〔 According to United Nation's Millennium Development Goal (MGD) programme 270 millions or 21.9% people out of 1.2 billion of Indians lived below poverty line of $1.25 in 2011-2012.〔()〕 Poverty in India is a historical reality. From late 19th century through early 20th century, under British colonial rule, poverty in India intensified, peaking in 1920s.〔〔 Famines and diseases killed millions each time.〔〔 After India gained its independence in 1947, mass deaths from famines were prevented, but poverty increased, peaking post-independence in 1960s. Rapid economic growth since 1991, has led to sharp reductions in extreme poverty in India.〔〔 However, those above poverty line live a fragile economic life.〔John Burn-Murdoch and Steve Bernard, (The Fragile Middle: millions face poverty as emerging economies slow ), The Financial Times (13 April 2014)〕 Lack of basic essentials of life such as safe drinking water, sanitation, housing, health infrastructure as well as malnutrition impact the lives of hundreds of millions. The World Bank reviewed and proposed revisions in May 2014, to its poverty calculation methodology and purchasing power parity basis for measuring poverty worldwide, including India. According to this revised methodology, the world had 872.3 million people below the new poverty line, of which 179.6 million people lived in India. In other words, India with 17.5% of total world's population, had 20.6% share of world's poorest in 2011.〔〔 ==Definition of poverty== ;Economic measures There are several definitions of poverty, and scholars disagree as to which definition is appropriate for India.〔Erenstein (2011), Livelihood Assets as a Multidimensional Inverse Proxy for Poverty: A District‐level Analysis of the Indian Indo‐Gangetic Plains, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 12(2), pp. 283-302〕〔(How to read India's poverty stats? ) The Wall Street Journal (2013)〕 Inside India, both income-based poverty definition and consumption-based poverty statistics are in use.〔Krishna & Shariff (2011), The irrelevance of national strategies? Rural poverty dynamics in states and regions of India, 1993–2005. World Development, 39(4), pp. 533-549〕 Outside India, the World Bank and institutions of the United Nations use a broader definition to compare poverty among nations, including India, based on purchasing power parity (PPP), as well as nominal relative basis.〔Chandy, L., & Gertz, G. (2011), Poverty in numbers: The changing state of global poverty from 2005 to 2015, Brookings Institution〕〔(THE DEFINITIONS OF POVERTY ) The World Bank (2009)〕 Each state in India has its own poverty threshold to determine how many people are below its poverty line and to reflect regional economic conditions. These differences in definition yield a complex and conflicting picture about poverty in India, both internally and when compared to other developing countries of the world.〔 As with many countries,〔Gordon Fisher, (The Development and the history of poverty thresholds ) Social Security Bulletin, Vol 55, No 4 (Winter 1992), US Government〕 poverty was historically defined and estimated in India using a sustenance food standard. This methodology has been revised. India's current official poverty rates are based on its Planning Commission’s data derived from so-called Tendulkar methodology.〔Panagariya & Mukim (2014), A comprehensive analysis of poverty in India. Asian Development Review, 31(1), pp. 1-52〕 It defines poverty not in terms of annual income, but in terms of consumption or spending per individual over a certain period for a basket of essential goods. Further, this methodology sets different poverty lines for rural and urban areas. Since 2007, India set its official threshold at 26 a day ($0.43) in rural areas and about 32 per day ($0.53) in urban areas.〔(Not poor if you earn Rs.32 a day: Planning Commission ) India Today (September 21, 2011)〕 While these numbers are lower than the World Bank's $1.25 per day ''income''-based definition, the definition is similar to China's US$0.65 per day official poverty line in 2008.〔Chen and Ravallion, (China is Poorer than we Thought, But No Less Successful in the Fight against Poverty ) Policy Research Working Paper 4621, The World Bank (2008), page 9〕 The World Bank’s international poverty line definition is based on purchasing power parity basis, at $1.25 per day.〔Chen & Ravallion (2013), More Relatively‐Poor People in a Less Absolutely‐Poor World, Review of Income and Wealth, 59(1), pp. 1-28〕〔Alkire & Sumner (2013), (Multidimensional Poverty and the Post-2015 MDGs ), ''Development'', 56(1), pp. 46-51〕 This definition is inspired by the reality that the price of same goods, and services such as a haircut, are quite different in local currencies around the world. A realistic definition and comparison of poverty must consider these differences in costs of living, or must be on purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. On this basis, currency fluctuations and nominal numbers become less important, the definition is based on the local costs of a basket of essential goods and services that people can purchase. By World Bank's 2014 PPP definition, India's poverty rate is significantly lower than previously believed.〔 ;Mixed, semi-economic and non-economic measures As with economic measures, there are many mixed or non-economic measures of poverty and experts contest which one is most appropriate for India. For example, Dandekar and Rath in 1971 suggested a measure of poverty rate that was based on number of calories consumed.〔Paul, S. (1989), A model of constructing the poverty line, Journal of Development Economics, 30(1), pp. 129-144〕 In 2011, Alkire et al. suggested a poverty rate measure so-called Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which put only 6.25% weight to assets owned by a person and placed 33% weight on education and number of years spent in school.〔 These non-economic measures remain controversial and contested as a measure of poverty rate of any nation, including India.〔Sumner (2004), Economic Well-being and Non-economic Well-being, A Review of the Meaning and Measurement of Poverty, ISBN ISBN 92-9190-617-4〕〔Appleton (2001), ‘The Rich Are Just Like Us, Only Richer’: Poverty Functions or Consumption Functions?, Journal of African Economies, 10(4), pp. 433-469〕 ;Comparison with alternate international definitions India determines household poverty line by summing up the individual per capita poverty lines of the household members. This practice is similar to many developing countries, but different from developed countries such as the United States that adjust poverty line on an incremental basis per additional household member. For example, in the United States, the poverty line for a household with just one member was set at $11,670 per year for 2014, while it was set at $23,850 per year for a 4-member household (or $5963 per person for the larger household).〔(2014 Poverty Guidelines ) US Department of Health and Human Services (2014)〕 The rationale for the differences arise from the economic realities of each country. In India, households may include surviving grandparents, parents and children. They typically do not incur any or significant rent expenses every month particularly in rural India, unlike housing in mostly urban developed economies. The cost of food and other essentials are shared within the household by its members in both cases. However, a larger portion of a monthly expenditure goes to food in poor households in developing countries,〔(Food Security and Poverty in Asia and the Pacific ) Asian Development Bank (April 2012), ISBN 978-92-9092-666-5, pp. 9-11〕 while housing, conveyance and other essentials cost significantly more in developed economies. For its current poverty rate measurements, India calculates two benchmarks. The first includes a basket of goods including food items but does not include the implied value of home, value of any means of conveyance or the economic value of other essentials created, grown or used without a financial transaction, by the members of a household. The second poverty line benchmark adds rent value of residence as well as the cost of conveyance, but nothing else, to the first benchmark.〔(REPORT OF THE EXPERT GROUP TO REVIEW THE METHODOLOGY FOR ESTIMATION OF POVERTY ) Govt of India (2009), pp. 11-27〕 This practice is similar to those used in developed countries for non-cash income equivalents and poverty line basis.〔Gordon Fisher, (The Development and the history of poverty thresholds ) Social Security Bulletin, Vol 55, No 4 (Winter 1992), US Government, pp. 9〕〔Smeeding et al., (POVERTY, INEQUALTTY, AND FAMILY LIVING STANDARDS IMPACTS ACROSS SEVEN NATIONS: THE EFFECT OF NONCASH SUBSIDIES FOR HEALTH, EDUCATION AND HOUSING ) Review of Income and Wealth, Series 39, Number 3. September 1993, pp. 229-256〕 India's official poverty line, in 2014, was a month in rural areas or a month in cities.〔(New Poverty Formula Proves Test for India ) The Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2014〕 India's nationwide average poverty line differs from each state's poverty line. For example, in 2011-2012, Puducherry had its highest poverty line of a month in rural and a month in urban areas, while Odisha had the lowest poverty thresholds of a month for rural and a month for its urban areas.〔(Press Note on Poverty Estimates, 2011-12 ) Government of India, p. 5〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Poverty in India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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