Which of the following methods has/have been used to estimate poverty in India? 1. Head Count Ratio 2. Calorie intake 3. Household Consumption Expenditure 4. Per Capita Income Select the correct answer from the codes given below. Codes:
- (a)2 and 3
- (b)1, 2 and 3
- (c)3 only
- (d)1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct — B, 1, 2 and 3. India's official poverty estimates have rested on household consumption expenditure (measured by NSSO surveys), benchmarked to a calorie-intake norm (e.g., 2400 kcal rural / 2100 kcal urban under the Alagh and Lakdawala frameworks), with poverty then expressed as the Head Count Ratio — the proportion of persons whose consumption falls below the poverty line. So methods 1, 2 and 3 have all been used. Per Capita Income (4) is a national-income/growth aggregate, not a tool for identifying who is poor, so it is excluded — giving (b).
- (a)2 and 3 — Wrong — it drops the Head Count Ratio (1), which is the standard summary measure used to report poverty in India.
- (c)3 only — Wrong — consumption expenditure is central, but calorie norms (2) and the Head Count Ratio (1) have also been used, so it is not '3 only'.
- (d)1, 2, 3 and 4 — Wrong — it wrongly includes Per Capita Income (4). Poverty in India is estimated from consumption, not income; per-capita income is a growth measure, not a poverty-line method.
In India poverty is measured on the consumption side, not the income side. Expert groups (Alagh 1979, Lakdawala 1993, Tendulkar 2009, Rangarajan 2014) defined a poverty line as the per-capita monthly consumption expenditure needed to meet a minimum basket, originally anchored to calorie requirements. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) collects the household consumption expenditure data, and poverty is then summarised as the Head Count Ratio (share of population below the line).
The trap is option (d), which tempts you to add 'Per Capita Income' because it sounds like a poverty indicator. Remember the Indian method is consumption-based (NSSO), so income measures are out. Head Count Ratio is the way results are expressed, calorie intake set the original norm, and consumption expenditure is the data source — statements 1, 2 and 3.
- Poverty line in India = minimum per-capita consumption expenditure, historically anchored to calorie norms
- NSSO household consumption expenditure surveys supply the data
- Head Count Ratio = proportion of population below the poverty line (the reported measure)
- Per-capita income is a national-income/growth aggregate, not a poverty-estimation method
Answer (b) 1, 2 and 3: India measures poverty by consumption/calorie/Head Count Ratio, not by per-capita income.
- Including 'Per Capita Income' — India measures poverty by consumption, not income
- Thinking Head Count Ratio is only a 'result' and not a method — it is the standard estimation/measurement tool
UPPSC/UPSC ask which methods/committees estimate poverty, or contrast consumption-based lines with income or multidimensional approaches.
Persons below the poverty line in India are classified as such based on whether
- (a) they are entitled to a minimum prescribed food basket
- (b) they get work for a prescribed minimum number of days in a year
- (c) they belong to agricultural labourer household and the scheduled caste/tribe social group
- (d) their daily wages fall below the prescribed minimum wages
Answer(a) they are entitled to a minimum prescribed food basket
Same concept — the basis of India's poverty line is a minimum calorie/consumption basket, not income or wages. Confirms why 'Calorie intake' and 'Consumption Expenditure' (not Per Capita Income) are the estimation methods.
In a given year in India, official poverty lines are higher in some States than in others because
- (a) poverty rates vary from State to State
- (b) price levels vary from State to State
- (c) Gross State Product varies from State to State
- (d) quality of public distribution varies from State to State
Answer(b) price levels vary from State to State
Same consumption-basket logic — the poverty line is the cost of a fixed consumption basket, so it rises where prices are higher. Reinforces that India's poverty measure is consumption-expenditure-based, not income-based.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which committee recommended a poverty line based on Mixed Reference Period consumption and moved away from pure calorie anchoring?
- (a)Alagh Committee
- (b)Lakdawala Committee
- (c)Tendulkar Committee
- (d)Wanchoo Committee
Answer(c) Tendulkar Committee (2009) — shifted to a broader consumption basket and MRP data.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Head Count Ratio, as used in Indian poverty estimation, measures the
- (a)proportion of the population living below the poverty line
- (b)average shortfall of the poor below the poverty line
- (c)per-capita income of the poorest decile
- (d)calorie intake of an average household
Answer(a) proportion of the population living below the poverty line.