Table of Contents

Poverty is a situation wherein a person is not able to fulfil basic requirements or necessities of life. For eg.: food, education, shelter, clothing, health, drinking water etc.

Types of Poverty

Poverty can be categorsied as:

1. Absolute Poverty -

It is an extreme kind of poverty, with severe deprivation of basic human needs like food, safe water, shelter, and healthcare, where individuals lack the financial means to secure a minimum standard of living for survival. People in absolute poverty tend to struggle to live and experience a lot of child deaths due to diseases like malaria, cholera, and contaminated water related diseases. This type of poverty is usually long-term in nature, passing on from generation to generation. It is usually not common in the developed world.

2. Relative Poverty –

Relative poverty is the condition of having less income or fewer resources than the average person in your society, preventing you from maintaining the standard of living considered acceptable within that community. It highlights economic inequality and social exclusion rather than a lack of basic biological survival needs. They are considered poor because rest of the community have the access to superior services and amenities.

Causes of Poverty

Causes of poverty are as follows:

  1. Income Inequality and Low Income levels - Even when people are employed, they may experience "working poverty." When a significant portion of a nation’s wealth is concentrated at the top, the bottom tier lacks the purchasing power to improve their living standards. Low wages often mean that every rupee earned goes toward immediate survival (food and rent), leaving nothing for growth.
  2. Illiteracy - Education is the primary reason for social mobility. Without the ability to read, write, or perform basic arithmetic, individuals are restricted to unskilled manual labor. This limits their earning potential and makes them more vulnerable to exploitation.
  3. Unemployment - The lack of steady work is the most direct path to poverty. In many regions, there is a "skills gap" where the available jobs require technical training that the local workforce does not possess, leading to high rates of long-term joblessness.
  4. Ill Health and Disability – Health is a form of "human capital." When an individual suffers from chronic illness or a disability without a social safety net, they lose the ability to earn a living. Furthermore, the high cost of medical treatment can push a struggling family deep into debt.
  5. Inheritance of Poverty – Often called "intergenerational poverty," this occurs when children are born into families without assets. They often attend underfunded schools and lack the networking or financial backing needed to escape their circumstances, effectively inheriting their parents' economic status.
  6. The Vicious Circle of Money – This is a classic economic trap. Because an individual has a low level of income, they have zero savings. Without savings, there is no investment in better tools, education, or businesses. This lack of investment leads to low productivity, which brings the cycle back to low income.
  7. Lack of Access to Essential Services - When education, healthcare, and clean water are not publicly available or affordable, the poor must spend a disproportionate amount of their time and money just to survive. This "poverty premium" means the poor actually pay more for basic needs than the wealthy.
  8. Conflict and Climate Change - War and natural disasters can destroy decades of progress in an instant. Conflict displaces families and destroys businesses, while climate change leads to crop failures for subsistence farmers, leaving them with no food and no income.
  9. Discrimination and Social Barriers - Systemic bias based on gender, caste, or ethnicity acts as a glass ceiling. When certain groups are denied the right to own land, take out loans, or enter specific professions, they are artificially held in a state of poverty regardless of their talent or effort.
  10. Weak Governance and Corruption - When a government is unstable or corrupt, funds intended for public welfare (like schools or hospitals) often end up in the pockets of the elite. This prevents the "trickle-down" of resources and ensures that poverty alleviation programs never reach the people who need them most.
  11. Poor Infrastructure - Infrastructure is the backbone of trade. If a village has poor roads, farmers cannot get their produce to the city before it rots. If there is no reliable electricity, businesses cannot operate. Isolation from the broader economy ensures poverty remains stagnant. 

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

Poverty alleviation programmes in India are as follows:

1. National Food for Work Programme –

  • Launched on - November 14, 2004
  • Aim/Objective - to intensify the generation of supplementary wage employment

The programme is open to all rural poor who are in need of wage employment and desire to do manual unskilled work. It is implemented as a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme and the food grains are provided to States free of cost. However, the transportation cost, handling charges and taxes on food grains are the responsibility of the States. The collector is the nodal officer at the district level and has the overall responsibility of planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring and supervision.

2. Rural Housing – Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) –

  • Operationalised from – 1999 – 2002
  • Aim/Objective - construction of houses for the poor, free of cost.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MORD) provides equity support to the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) for this purpose.

3. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) –

  • Launched on – 25th December 2000
  • Aim/Objective - to provide connectivity to eligible unconnected rural habitations as part of a poverty reduction strategy.

It’s a 100% centrally sponsored scheme. Its primary goal is to facilitate overall socio-economic development by improving access to health, education, and markets, creating jobs, and enhancing economic opportunities for villagers. The scheme is implemented by State Governments and overseen by the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA).

4. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) –

  • Launched in – December 2000
  • Aim/Objective – to provide food grains at a highly subsidized rate of Rs.2.00 per kg for wheat and Rs.3.00 per kg for rice to the poor families under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

Eligible households receive 35 kg of food grains monthly, including rice and wheat, at a low Central Issue Price (CIP) to ensure food security for the most vulnerable segments of the population. The scheme is part of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and targets specific groups such as households headed by widows, disabled persons, the elderly without support, landless labourers, and daily wage earners. 

5. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) –

  • Launched in – December 2001
  • Aim/Objective – to facilitate the construction and upgradation of dwelling units for the slum dwellers and provide a healthy and enabling urban environment through community toilets under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, a component of the scheme.

The Central Government provides a subsidy of 50 per cent, the balance 50 per cent being arranged by the State Government. The VAMBAY scheme was followed by the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), launched in June 2011, to further the vision of a "Slum free India". 

6. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY – G) –

Formerly known as Indira awas Yojana (IAY)

  • Launched on – 1st April 2016
  • Aim/Objective - providing a pucca house, with basic amenities, to all houseless households and those households living in kutcha and dilapidated house.

PMAY-G addresses the rural housing shortage and bridges the housing deficit in rural areas of India, contributing significantly to the mission of "Housing for All". The beneficiaries are identified using the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) parameters and verified by the Gram Sabhas. The amount is transferred directly to the Aadhaar-Linked Bank Account / Post-Office Account of the beneficiary.  

7. Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) –

  • Launched in – 1978 – 79
  • Aim/Objective - to raise families above the poverty line through self-employment, skill development, and access to credit.

The scheme was discontinued in 1999 and merged into the Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana.

8. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) –

  • Launched in – 1995
  • Aim/Objective – give needy senior citizens, who lack sufficient income or support, a monthly pension.

It is for citizens who are 60 years or older and belong to a household below the poverty line. It is implemented in both rural and urban areas across all States and Union Territories. A monthly pension of Rs. 200 for citizens in the age bracket of 60 – 79 years, and Rs. 500 for citizens aged 80 years and above.

9. Annapurna Scheme –

  • Launched on – April 1, 2000
  • Aim/Objective - to provide 10 kg of food grains free of cost to destitute senior citizens aged 65 or above who were eligible but not covered by the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS).

The scheme aimed to ensure food security for these vulnerable individuals, who lacked regular income or financial support. 

10. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) –

  • Launched on – 15 August 2014
  • Aim/ Objective – Financial Inclusion

It provides a platform for universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, and access to credit, insurance and pension facility.