How poor are the poor

New values for the poverty line was defined. Anyone earning less than Rs.22 per day in rural India would be considered poor.Anyone earning less than Rs.28 in urban areas would be poor. This is a redefined as it was previously 32 for urban. Government's subsidy for the poor will be determined by values from the Socio-economic Census, and not based on poverty  lines redefined.But these definitions cannot describe poverty, as the cost of living is very high. It would be considered a way to decipher the economic realities.The reality that the Planning Commission is clearly out of touch with the plight of the poor.

The survey indicates that poverty has gone down. But this is a wrong interpretation.The percentage of poor in India has gone down. but the number of poor in India has increased.In the State of UP 73 million were poor in 2004-2005, and 73.7 million poor exited in 2009-2010.In the state of Bihar 49.3 million to 54.3 million and in New Delhi from 1.9million to 2.3 million. 

More men moved out of poverty than women; more in urban areas moved out of poverty than in rural India.In the bottom 15% of people with low per capita monthly expenditure have increased in numbers. That means that impoverishment has taken place,when one analyses the data.But improvement is visible, people live in better homes, have better meals and send children to school and so on.And the National Rural Employment Schemes have worked well. We have to analyse statistics in a better way.

The divide between the rich people and the poor people has widened.That is the richest 10% are much richer than the 10% of the poorest than ever before. Our policies to bring about equality has failed.

We have government which supports the very rich businessmen. The government wants the investments made by the rich to increase; and policies are made accordingly. The poor are under great pressure to earn their basic food just to survive. Can they do it? That is the every day test of an ordinary Indian.