Poverty Measurement · Committees · MPI · Unemployment Types · Govt. Schemes — SSC / Railway / UPSC / BPSC
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Absolute Poverty | Poverty against a fixed minimum living standard/threshold. Boyd Orr linked poverty, poor diet and ill health and became FAO's first Director-General; he is not credited here with first using absolute poverty. |
| Relative Poverty | Lack of income/consumption compared to average living standard; measured using Lorenz Curve (Max O. Lorenz, 1905 — income inequality) and Gini Coefficient (Corrado Gini, 1912 — income/wealth inequality) |
Poverty Line: Level of income or consumption expenditure below which a person is considered poor. Poverty is based on consumption expenditure.
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Uniform Recall Period | Food and non-food items considered for the last 30 days |
| Mixed Recall Period | 365-day recall: clothing/bedding, footwear, education, institutional medical care and durables; 30 days for other items |
| Name / Committee | Year | Key Facts |
|---|---|---|
| Dadabhai Naoroji | 1867–68 | Pioneering pre-Independence estimate using the cost of a subsistence diet; Poverty and Un-British Rule in India was published in 1901 |
| VM Dandekar & N. Rath | 1971 | Widely cited systematic post-Independence poverty assessment using NSS data; approximately 2,250 calories/person/day for both rural and urban areas |
| Y.K. Alagh Committee | 1979 | 2400 calories in rural areas; 2100 calories in urban areas |
| Lakdawala Committee | 1993 | Separate CPI for rural and urban areas; CPI-IW for industrial workers; CPI-AL for agricultural labourers |
| Suresh Tendulkar Committee | Constituted December 2005; report December 2009 | Moved away from direct calorie norms, used a common urban poverty-line reference basket, and included private health/education spending. 2011–12 MPCE: Rural ₹816/month (25.7% poor); Urban ₹1,000 (13.7%); All India 21.9%. |
| C. Rangarajan Committee | Formed 2012; Report 2014 | 2011–12 poverty lines: rural ₹972/person/month; urban ₹1,407; all-India poverty ratio ~29.5% |
Consumption measurement now uses NSO HCES with Modified Mixed Reference Period (MMRP); the last official Tendulkar poverty ratio remains the 2011–12 estimate.
The three dimensions are Health, Education, and Standard of Living, represented through 12 indicators.
Unemployment: without work while seeking/available for work under survey rules. Causes include insufficient suitable jobs, skills mismatch, structural change, seasonality and underemployment; not overpopulation alone.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Seasonal Unemployment | Work is available only in particular seasons or parts of the year; duration varies by activity |
| Frictional Unemployment | Time gap between leaving one job and joining another |
| Disguised Unemployment | More workers than needed; some can withdraw without reducing output (zero marginal productivity is the textbook limiting case) |
| Cyclical Unemployment | Unemployment caused by downturns in aggregate demand and business-cycle contractions |
| Open Unemployment | Able and willing to work, seeking/available for work, but no employment |
| Structural Unemployment | Mismatch between workers' skills and job requirements |
| Long-term Unemployment | Situation of unemployment for a long duration |
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Usual Status | Activity status over a 365-day reference period; captures relatively long-duration/chronic employment or unemployment |
| Current Weekly Status | No work even for one hour in the preceding seven days, while seeking or available for work |
| Current Daily Status | Employment/unemployment in person-days, including half-days, for each day of the reference week; sensitive to underemployment |
| Programme | Year | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| PM Vishwakarma | 2023 | Financial support to traditional artisans and craftsmen |
| PM YUVA Yojana | 2021 | Nurtures young writers under 30 years of age |
| PM Ji-VAN Yojana | 2019 (Amended 2024) | Promotes advanced biofuel projects; develops ethanol from surplus biomass and agricultural waste |
| PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana | 2020 | COVID-era scheme began 2020; free NFSA foodgrains continued for ~81.35 crore beneficiaries for five years from 1 January 2024 |
| Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) | 2020 | Affordable working-capital micro-credit and related incentives for eligible street vendors |
| PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan | 2020 | 125-day campaign launched 20 June 2020 for returnee migrants and affected persons in 116 districts across six states |
| One Nation One Ration Card | Pilot: August 2019; nationwide: June 2022 | Subsidised food grains from government ration shops, portable nationwide |
| PM Shram Yogi Maandhan Pension Yojana | 2019 | For unorganised sector workers earning up to ₹15,000/month (aged 18–40); pension of ₹3000/month post age 60 |
| Programme | Year | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Ayushman Bharat Yojana | 2018 | PM-JAY: up to ₹5 lakh per family/year for eligible secondary/tertiary hospitalisation; later extended to all persons aged 70+ |
| National Vayoshree Scheme | 2017 | BPL elders and senior citizens; physical aid and assisted-living devices |
| PM Matru Vandana Yojana | 2017 | Effective 1 January 2017; cash benefit for first child; PMMVY 2.0 also provides ₹6,000 for a second child if a girl |
| PM Vaya Vandana Yojana | 2017 | Assured-return/pension scheme for ages 60+; closed to new subscriptions after 31 March 2023 |
| Project SWAYAM | 2017 | National online-learning platform; many courses free to learn, while certification/exams may carry a fee |
| PM Ujjwala Yojana | 2016 | Deposit-free LPG connections for eligible adult women from poor households; applicable benefits may include first refill and stove |
| PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) | 2016 | Cumulative target: about 4.95 crore pucca rural houses by 2029, including 2 crore additional houses for FY 2024–29 |
| Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission | 2016 | Integrated rural development projects |
| PM Suraksha Bima Yojana | 2015 | Age group 18–70 years; ₹20 annual premium; ₹2 lakh on death/permanent disability, ₹1 lakh on partial disability |
| Atal Pension Yojana | 2015 | Eligible ages 18–40; contributory pension ₹1,000–₹5,000/month after 60; income-tax payers cannot open new APY accounts from 1 October 2022 |
| Beti Bachao Beti Padhao | 2015 | Preventing female foeticide and promoting education |
| Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana | 2014 | Feeder separation and rural power-distribution infrastructure/electrification; scheme closed 31 March 2022 |
| PM Adarsh Gram Yojana | 2009–10 | Pilot in 2009–10; integrated development of villages with more than 50% Scheduled Caste population |
| MGNREGA | 2005 | Act enacted 2005; effective 2 February 2006. Up to 100 days of wage employment per financial year to each rural household whose adults volunteer for unskilled manual work |
| Topic | Key Fact |
|---|---|
| Poverty (Amartya Sen) | Multi-dimensional problem |
| Lorenz Curve | By Max O. Lorenz (1905); Income inequality |
| Gini Coefficient | By Corrado Gini (1912); Income/wealth inequality |
| Absolute Poverty | Fixed minimum living threshold; Boyd Orr linked poverty, diet and ill health (first FAO DG) |
| Head Count Ratio | % of population below poverty line |
| First Poverty Study India | Dadabhai Naoroji (1867–68) |
| First Calorie-based Poverty Line | VM Dandekar and N. Rath (1971); 2250 cal/day |
| Y.K. Alagh Committee | 1979; Rural: 2400 cal, Urban: 2100 cal |
| Lakdawala Committee | 1993; CPI-IW (industrial workers), CPI-AL (agri labourers) |
| Tendulkar Committee | Report 2009; 2011–12 MPCE lines rural ₹816/mo, urban ₹1,000/mo; all-India ratio 21.9% |
| Rangarajan Committee | 2014; Rural: ₹972/mo; Urban: ₹1407/mo |
| MPI | By NITI Aayog (2021); 3 dimensions; 12 indicators |
| Highest Multidimensional Poor | Bihar (2023 report) |
| Lowest Multidimensional Poor | Kerala (2023 report) |
| Disguised Unemployment | Zero marginal productivity; more workers than needed |
| Bhagwati Committee | Appointed December 1970; final report 1973; Usual, Current Weekly and Current Daily Status measures |
| Headline PLFS reporting age (India) | 15 years and above (headline PLFS indicators); OECD: 15–64 years |
| Unemployment Rate Formula | (No. of Unemployed ÷ Labour Force) × 100 |
| MGNREGA | Act 2005; effective 2 February 2006; up to 100 days/financial year per eligible rural household |
| Ayushman Bharat | PM-JAY, 2018; up to ₹5 lakh/family/year for eligible hospitalisation; extended to all ages 70+ |
| Beti Bachao Beti Padhao | 2015; Preventing female foeticide; promoting education |
| PM SVANidhi | 1 June 2020; working-capital micro-credit for eligible street vendors |
| PM Suraksha Bima | 2015; ₹20 premium; ₹2 lakh on death/permanent disability |
| Atal Pension Yojana | 2015; eligible entrants 18–40; pension after 60; new income-taxpayer accounts barred from 1 October 2022 |