The Rangarajan committee on poverty has estimated that the total number of poor in India at 363 million or 29.6 per cent of the population against 269.8 million (21.9 per cent).
There has been criticism that the previously agreed poverty line had been pegged much lower than it should have been. The Rangarajan committee raised the daily per capita expenditure to Rs 32 from Rs 27 for the rural poor and to Rs 47 from Rs 33 for the urban poor, thus raising the poverty line based on the average monthly per capita expenditure to Rs 972 in rural India and Rs 1,407 in urban India. The earlier methodology, devised by Tendulkar, had defined the poverty line at Rs 816 and Rs 1,000.
The importance of the new figures being adopted is that more people will be entitled to more benefits and social services. This would be unpopular with the government as it would increase its welfare obligations.
There has been criticism that the previously agreed poverty line had been pegged much lower than it should have been. The Rangarajan committee raised the daily per capita expenditure to Rs 32 from Rs 27 for the rural poor and to Rs 47 from Rs 33 for the urban poor, thus raising the poverty line based on the average monthly per capita expenditure to Rs 972 in rural India and Rs 1,407 in urban India. The earlier methodology, devised by Tendulkar, had defined the poverty line at Rs 816 and Rs 1,000.
The importance of the new figures being adopted is that more people will be entitled to more benefits and social services. This would be unpopular with the government as it would increase its welfare obligations.
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