Poverty As A Challenge

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Global Poverty Scenario: There has been a substantial decline in global poverty. However, it is marked with great regional differences. Poverty has declined more in China and South-East Asian countries.

1. Causes of Poverty: There are a number of causes for the widespread poverty in India. These are :
   The rapid growth of population, particularly among the poor is considered a major cause of Indian poverty.
2. Our agricultural sector has failed to generate much employment opportunities for the farm labourers. Similarly, our industries could not provide many jobs for the job seekers.
3. One of the major causes of poverty is the unequal distribution of land and other resources. Various land reform measures introduced after Independence could not improve the life of millions of rural poor because of their poor implementation.
4. Social factors: People in India, including the very poor, spend a lot of money on social occasions like marriages, festivals, etc. Poor people hardly have any savings; they are, thus forced to borrow. Unable to pay because of poverty, they became victims of indebtedness. The joint family system has prevented people from doing hard work.

Steps were taken by the Government for Poverty Alleviation

Our government’s strategy to poverty reduction has been twofold. One, promotion of economic growth and, two, targeted poverty alleviation programmes.

Poverty Alleviation Programmes: To address the poor, a need for targeted anti-poverty programmes was strongly felt.

Some of them are given below:

1. Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) : The aim of this programme (which was started in 1993) was to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns.
2. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP): REGP was launched in 1995 to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas.
3. Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY): SGSY was started in 1999. The programme aims at bringing the assisted poor families above the poverty line.
4. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) was launched in 2000.
5. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) for ‘the poorest of poor’ and elders.
6. National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) was launched in 2004.
7. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was passed in September 2005. The Act provides 100-days assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts.