Issues relating to poverty and hunger

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Issues relating to poverty and hunger

Poverty

Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living.

Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion, as well as the lack of participation in decision-making. Today, more than 780 million people live below the international poverty line. More than 11% of the world population is living in extreme poverty and struggling to fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and access to water and sanitation.

Hunger

Hunger is a condition in which a person, for a sustained period, is unable to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs. So in the field of hunger relief, the term hunger is used in a sense that goes beyond the common desire for food that all humans experience.

Issues related to poverty

Measurement of poverty

A definition of poverty in terms of subsistence level has had wide acceptance as it seems to be in accordance with common sense which describes poverty as lack of the income needed to acquire the minimum necessities of life. Poverty is an extremely complex phenomenon, which manifests itself in a range of overlapping and interwoven economic, political and social deprivations. These include lack of assets, low income levels, hunger, poor health, insecurity, physical and psychological hardship, social exclusion, degradation and discrimination, and political powerlessness and disarticulation.

The first specific and scientific attempt to identify the poor and to measure the extent of poverty was made by an expert committee constituted by the Government of India in July 1962. It has put the nationally desirable minimum level of consumer expenditure at Rs. 20 per capita per month according to 1960-61 prices. In 1971, Dandekar and Rath introduced the calories concept explicitly they considered the energy requirement of 2250 calories as the basic need per day per person According to them this minimum level of consumption would require an expenditure of Rs.20/- per head per month for rural areas and Rs. 22.50/- for urban areas according to 1960-61 prices. Dantwala, 1973 stated that there cannot be a single universal norm of poverty. The brief description about development in methodology and measurement of poverty ratio at national and state level is highlighted below.

The Planning Commission in July 1977 constituted the Task Force on the Projections of Minimum Needs and Effective Consumption Demand‖ under the Chairmanship of Dr. Y. K. Alagh.The average calorie requirements were estimated, separately for the all-India rural and urban areas as a population–weighted average of the age-gender-activity specific calorie allowances recommended by the Nutrition Expert Group (1968) by reference to the 1971 population Census. The estimated calorie norm was 2400 kcal per capita per day in rural areas and 2100 kcal per capita per day in urban areas.

The Planning Commission, in September 1989, constituted the Expert Group on Estimation of Proportion and Number of Poor to “look into the methodology for estimation of poverty and to re-define the poverty line, if necessary”. The Expert Group submitted its Report in July 1993. The Government accepted the Expert Group methodology in March 1997 as the basis for computing the official estimates of poverty in India.

The Expert Group under the chairmanship of Suresh D. Tendulkar was constituted by the Planning Commission in 2005. The Expert Group did not construct a poverty line. It adopted the officially measured urban poverty line of 2004-05 based on Expert Group (Lakdawala) methodology and converted this poverty line (which is URP-consumption based) into MRP consumption.

The national urban poverty ratio in 2004-05 as per the Expert Group (Tendulkar) methodology is identical to the one estimated by the Expert Group (Lakdawala) methodology, which is 25.7 percent. The shift from MPCE estimates on URP (that underlay the poverty ratio with the Lakdawala methodology) to those on MRP in the Expert Group (Tendulkar) methodology significantly raised the all-India Urban poverty line level of MPCE from 538.60 to Rs 578.80.

The poverty lines defined by the Tendulkar Committee did not reflect the changing times and aspirations of the people. The high rate of increase in per capita income and consumption in the first decade of this century and the consequential changes in the structure of the economy as well as in people’s perspectives on poverty was viewed as requiring a fresh look at the poverty line and its composition. This provides the backdrop to the setting up of the Expert Group.

As a first step towards defining the food component of the poverty line basket, the Expert Group (Rangarajan) has recomputed the average requirements of calories, proteins and fats, per- capita per-day at the all- India level for 2011-12, separately for the rural and the urban populations. This has been done by reference to the 2010 ICMR norms differentiated by age, gender and activity-status.

Causes of poverty in india

Overpopulation

Population has been rising in India at a rapid speed. This rise is mainly due to fall in death rate and more birth rate.  India’s population was 84.63 crores in 1991 and became 121 crores in 2011. This pressure of population proves hindrance in the way of economic development.

Capital Deficiency

Capital is needed for setting up industry, transport and other projects. Shortage of capital creates hurdles in development.

 

 

Unemployment

Due to continuous rise in population, there is chronic unemployment and under employment in India. There is educated unemployment and disguised unemployment. Poverty is just the reflection of unemployment.

Under-developed economy

The Indian economy is under developed due to low rate of growth. It is the main cause of poverty.

Increase in Price

The steep rise in prices has affected the poor badly. They have become more poor.

Rural Economy

Indian economy is rural economy. Indian agriculture is backward. It has great pressure of population. Income in agriculture is low and disguised unemployment is more in agriculture.

Deficiency of efficient Entrepreneurs                

For industrial development, able and efficient entrepreneurs are needed. In India, there is shortage of efficient entrepreneurs. Less industrial development is a major cause of poverty.

Unskilled Labour

In India, unskilled labour is in abundant supply but skilled labour is less due to insufficient industrial education and training.

Critical evaluation of poverty alleviation programmes in india

  • The income generation orientation of poverty alleviation programmes does not recognise the importance of increased flow of social inputs through family welfare, nutrition, social security and minimum needs programmes in alleviating conditions of poverty on a long-term basis.
  • The programmes have done little for disabled, sick and socially handicapped individuals who cannot participate in normal economic activities. The strategy for poverty alleviation has also failed to do justice to women in intra-family distributions.
  • Income and employment-oriented poverty alleviation programmes put additional income in the hands of the poor which they can use for buying food. But these programmes do not ensure that the poor can really manage to get adequate food all the year round for the family with the increased income.
  • The household approach focused around self-employment enterprises or wage-employment guarantees is not correct in the state of continuing demographic pressures and increasing number of small size of farm holding.
  • Many rural poor depend on natural resources for their livelihood. However, the practices of using these resources are no longer viable and as a result they are fast deteriorating. The government should have taken into consideration the implications of this environmental decay which unfortunately was not taken care of in the past.

 

Global initiative for poverty alleviation

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promises to leave no one behind and to reach those furthest behind first. Meeting this ambitious development agenda requires visionary policies for sustainable, inclusive, sustained and equitable economic growth, supported by full employment and decent work for all, social integration, declining inequality, rising productivity and a favorable environment. In the 2030 Agenda, Goal 1 recognizes that ending poverty in all its forms everywhere is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

While progress in eradicating extreme poverty has been incremental and widespread, the persistence of poverty, including extreme poverty remains a major concern in Africa, the least developed countries, small island developing States, in some middle-income countries, and countries in situations of conflict and post-conflict countries. In light of these concerns, the General Assembly, at its seventy-second session, decided to proclaim the “Third United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2018–2027).”The objective of the Third Decade is to maintain the momentum generated by the implementation of the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017) towards poverty eradication. Further, the 3rd Decade is also expected to support, in an efficient and coordinated manner, the internationally agreed development goals related to poverty eradication, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

Issues related to hunger

Causes of hunger in india are as follows:

  • Most major food and nutrition crises do not occur because of a lack of food, but rather because people are too poor to obtain enough food. Non-availability of food in markets, difficult access to markets due to lack of transportation, and insufficient financial resources are all factors contributing to the food insecurity of the most vulnerable populations. People are increasingly dependent on international markets for all or part of their food supply, particularly between harvest periods.
  • Certain illnesses and infections, such as tuberculosis, measles, and diarrhoea are directly linked to acute malnutrition. A combination of disease and malnutrition weakens the metabolism creating a vicious cycle of infection and undernourishment, leading to vulnerability to illness. HIV and AIDS have become a leading cause of acute malnutrition in developing countries. A child infected with HIV is more vulnerable to acute malnutrition than a healthy child. Anti-retroviral drugs are more effective when combined with adequate, regular food intake. So ensuring a healthy diet is an important aspect of HIV control and treatment.
  • Seasonal migrations have long been a livelihood strategy for the poorest households in India, as a mean to access food and money through casual labour. Children and women are the most affected, suffering from deprivation during migrations impacting their health condition. They live in challenging conditions with unsafe drinking water, no health care services and in make-shift tents. They carry their children to work where they are also exposed to unhygienic conditions leading to various health problems, including poor nutrition.
  • In 30 years, the number of natural disasters — droughts, cyclones, floods, etc. — linked to climate change has increased substantially. The effects of climate change are often dramatic, devastating areas which are already vulnerable. Infrastructure is damaged or destroyed; diseases spread quickly; people can no longer grow crops or raise livestock.

 

Challenges of food security in india

Agricultural production is critical for achieving food security, since close to 99 per cent of food consumed is supplied by agriculture. Agriculture, on the other hand, is already under stress from environmental degradation, climate change, and an increasing conversion of land for non-agricultural activities. Furthermore, the shift in population centres arising from migration has accelerated the triple burden of malnutrition—the coexistence of hunger (insufficient caloric intake to meet dietary energy requirements), undernutrition (prolonged inadequate intake of macro- and micronutrients), and over-nutrition in the form of overweight and obesity. Migrants to urban centres face challenges around accessing nutritious food, adequate employment, social protection, housing and, water and sanitation facilities. This poses additional challenges to the government to ensure not only livelihood security for the population but also tackle challenges pertaining to food and nutrition security.

The consequence of migration also throws open opportunities for food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development. For instance, loss in human capital and agricultural labour may have negative impacts on crop production and food availability. At the same time traditional food value chains are being transformed to meet the demands from urban centres. Increased commercial flows of agricultural goods, diet transformation, and the evolution of commercial markets in meeting urban food demand are causing food value chains to evolve. The growing use of modern inputs, information and communication technologies, and linking rural producers to wealthy urban consumers are important aspects of these changing trends.

2018 global  hunger index and india

The sustainable development agenda of removing poverty and hunger might seem like a dream to India despite being the world’s fastest developing economy. The recent Global Hunger Index 2018 (GHI) reveals that tackling hunger and undernutrition is a difficult task for the Modi Government. India stood 103rd on the Global Hunger Index along with Nigeria and has been categorised as a country with ‘serious’ levels of hunger.

The 13th edition of Global Hunger Index 2018 released by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide stated that although there has been a significant decline in the proportion of the undernourished population from 18.2% in 2000 to 14.8% in 2018, India still has GHI of 31.1 making the country fall in the ‘serious’ category. The best-performing countries have a GHI score as low as 5 (Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia etc).

 

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