Chapter 3 Poverty as a challenge NCERT Solutions For Class 9 Social Science Economics

Online Class For 9th Standard Students (CBSE) (English Medium)

About Lesson

Question-1
Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India.
Solution:
A common method used to measure poverty is based on income or consumption levels. A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given “minimum level” necessary to fulfill basic needs. While determining the poverty line in India, a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirement, etc. are determined for subsistence. These physical quantities are multiplied by their prices in rupees. The resent formula for food requirements while estimating the poverty line is based on the desired calorie requirement.

As per 2000 figures; a family of five which is earning less than Rs. 1,640 per month is considered to be living below the poverty line. This figure is Rs. 2,270 per month for the urban area. The expected calorie intake has been fixed at 2400 calories per person in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas. A person consuming less than this amount is considered to be living below the poverty line.

Question-2
Do you think that the present methodology of poverty estimation is appropriate?
Solution:
No, the present methodology of poverty estimation is not appropriate because it takes into account only the basic needs of food, clothing, fuel etc. But the quality of these basic necessities is the lowest quality available. The amount which is fixed as the poverty line does not include the margin for the constant price fluctuations. The poverty line should include some corrections for inflation and market fluctuations.

Question-3
Describe poverty trends in India since 1973.
Solution:
As per the data, there has been a substantial decline in poverty ratios in India from 45 percent in 1993-94 to 37.2 percent in 2004-05. There was a further decline to 22 percent in 2011-12. Although the number of poor people declined from 1973 to 1993, there was a significant reduction in the number of the poor (about 407 million) in 2004-05 and a further 270 million in 2011-12 with an average annual decline of 2.2 percent. It may also be noted that poverty ratios always remained higher in rural areas as compared to urban areas. If the present trend continues, the people below the poverty line may come down to less than 20 percent in the next few years.

Question-4
Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.
Solution:
There were a number of causes for the widespread poverty in India. One historical reason is the low level of economic development under the British colonial administration. The low rate of growth persisted until the nineteen-eighties. This resulted in fewer job opportunities and a low growth rate of incomes. This was accompanied by a high growth rate of the population. The two combined to make the growth rate of per capita income very low. Another feature of high poverty rates has been the huge income inequalities. One of the major reasons for this is the unequal distribution of land and other resources. Despite many policies, we have not been able to tackle the issue in a meaningful manner.

Question-5
Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty in India.
Solution:
Social groups, which are most vulnerable to poverty, are scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households. Similarly, among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural agricultural labour households and urban casual labour households.

Question-6
Describe global poverty trends.
Solution:
The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty— defined by the World Bank as living on less than $1 per day—has fallen from 28 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2001. Although there has been a substantial reduction in global poverty, it is marked with great regional differences. Poverty declined substantially in China and Southeast Asian countries as a result of rapid economic growth and massive investments in human resource development. The number of poor people in China has come down from 606 million in 1981 to 212 million in 2001.

In the countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan) the decline has not been as rapid. Despite the decline in the percentage of the poor, the number of poor has declined marginally from 475 million in 1981 to 428 million in 2001. Because of different poverty line definition, poverty in India is also shown higher than the national estimates. In Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty in fact rose from 41 percent in 1981 to 46 percent in 2001 (see graph 3.3). In Latin America, the ratio of poverty remained the same.

Poverty has also resurfaced in some of the former socialist countries like Russia, where officially it was nonexistent earlier. The proportion of people living under poverty in different countries is defined by the international poverty line (means population below $1 a day).

Question-7
Describe the current government strategy of poverty alleviation.
Solution:
The current anti-poverty strategy of the government is based broadly on two planks

promotion of economic growth
targeted anti-poverty programs.

Question-8
What do you understand by human poverty?
Solution:
Many scholars advocate that we must broaden the concept of poverty into human poverty. A large number of people may have been able to feed themselves. But they do not have education or shelter or health care or job security or self-confidence.
They are not free from caste and gender discrimination. The practice of child labour is still common.

Question-9
Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India.
Solution:
Removal of poverty is one of the major objectives of the Indian developmental strategy. The current government strategy of poverty alleviation is based on two planks:

Promotion of Economic Growth
Targeted Anti-poverty Programmes

Some of the targeted anti-poverty programmes undertaken by the government are:

Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY). This programme was started in 1993. It aims at creating self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns.
Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY). This programme was launched in 2000. It aims at creating and improving basic services like primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.
Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP). This programme was launched in 1995. It aims at creating self-employment opportunities in rural areas and urban towns.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This act was passed in September 2005. The act provides 100 days assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts. Later, the scheme would be extended to 600 districts. One-third of the proposed jobs have been reserved for women.

Question-10
Who are the poorest of the poor?
Solution:
(ii) Women, children (especially the girl child) and elder people in a poor family are regarded as the poorest of the poor because they are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family.

Question-11
What are the main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005?
Solution:
The main features of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 are:

- The Act assures 100 days of employment every year to every rural household.
- One-third of the jobs are reserved for women.
- It also aimed at sustainable development to address the cause of drought, deforestation and soil erosion.
- The share of SCs, STs and women are 23 percent, 17 percent and 53 per cent respectively.
- Under this, the average wage has increased from ₹ 65 in 2006-07 to ₹ 132 in 2013-14.
- The scheme provided employment to 220 crores person-days of employment to 4.78 crore households.

Poverty as a Challenge Class 9 Important Questions Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is poverty? [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
Poverty is a situation in which a person is unable to get the minimum basic necessities of life, i.e., food, clothing and shelter for his or her sustenance.

Question 2.
What is mass poverty?
Answer:
Mass poverty is a situation in which a large section of people in economy are deprived of the basic necessities.

Question 3.
What is BPL?
Or
What is Poverty Line?
Answer:
In India, the concept of Poverty line is used as a measure of absolute poverty. So BPL (Below Poverty Line) is a line which demarcate the people, who are living below the poverty from those, who are living above the poverty line.

Question 4.
Mention any two indicators of poverty.
Answer:

Level of income.
Level of consumption.

Question 5.
Name any two poverty and unemployment alleviation programmes which have been initiated by the government to remove poverty and unemployment in rural areas.
Answer:

The Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme.
Integrated Rural Development Programmer of IRDP.

Question 6.
What is the accepted average calorie requirement in India
(i) In rural areas
(ii) In urban areas
(iii) Why calorie requirement is higher in the rural areas?
Answer:
(i) 2400 calories
(ii) 2100 calories
(iii) Since people living in rural areas engage themselves in more physical work, so calorie requirement in rural areas is higher than in the urban areas.

Question 7.
How is the poverty line estimated periodically? Name an organisation which is responsible for estimating poverty. [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
The poverty line is estimated periodically by conducting sample surveys.
These surveys are carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation. (NSSO).

Question 8.
Name any four poverty ridden states.
Answer:
Odisha, Bihar, Assam and Tripura.

Question 9.
Define poverty with contest to World Bank. Name any four countries which have high percentage of population living below poverty.
Answer:
All those persons who live on less than $1.25 per day are considered living below poverty line.

Nigeria
Bangladesh
India
Pakistan

Question 10.
‘The current anti- poverty strategy of the government is based broadly on two planks’. Name the two planks.
Answer:

Promotion of economic growth.
Targeted anti-poverty programmes.

Question 11.
Name a poverty alleviation programme for rural areas with its objectives.
Answer:
Rural Employment Generation Programme.

The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns.
A target for creating 25 lakhs new jobs has been set for the programme under the Tenth Five Year plan.

Question 12.
Name any two social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty.
Answer:
Scheduled Caste(SC) and Scheduled Tribe(ST).

Question 13.
Mention any one historical reason for poverty.
Answer:
Low level of economic development under the British.

Question 14.
Name the Act through which a poor person can get 100 days assured employment.
Answer:
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Question 15.
Name a scheme which was launched to create self-employment opportunities for the educated youth in the rural areas.
Answer:
The Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana.

Poverty as a Challenge Class 9 Important Questions Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
‘One historical reason is the low level of economic development under the British colonial administration.’ Explain.
Answer:

The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged development of industries like textiles.
The low rate of growth persisted until the nineteen eighties. This resulted in less job opportunities and low growth rate of incomes.
This was accompanied by a high growth rate of population. The two combined to make the growth rate of per capita income very low. The failure at both the fronts: promotion of economic growth and population control perpetuated the cycle of poverty.

Question 2.
Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.
Answer:

Lack of industrialisation: India is very backward from the industrial point of view. Hardly 3 per cent of the total working population is engaged in the large- scale industry.
Over dependence on agri-culture: Even after more than 60 years of independence more than 60 per cent of our total population still depends on agriculture for its livelihood. Due to shortage of inputs, our agriculture is backward.
Inflationary pressure: Upward trend in prices adversely affects the poor sections of the society.
Unemployment: Due to lack of job opportunities, more than 90 lakhs of our total working force is unemployed.

Question 3.
What are the major objectives of the Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana?
Answer:

The Yojana was launched in 1993.
The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns.
Under this unemployed are helped in setting up small business and industries.

Question 4.
Which of the main factor responsible for the reduction of poverty in the following states:
(i) Punjab
(ii) Kerala
(iii) West Bengal
(iv) Tamil Nadu
Answer:
(i) Punjab: Povety has been reduced due to high agricultural growth rate.
(ii) Kerala: Poverty has been reduced through human resource development.
(iii) West Bengal: Poverty has been . reduced through land reform measures.
(iv) Tamil Nadu: Poverty has been reduced through proper public distribution system.

Question 5.
Give an account of the inter-state disparities in poverty in India.[CBSE2014]
Answer:

States with poverty ratio more than the national average: Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh are the most poverty ridden states of India. The poverty ratio in these states is much higher than the national average. Orissa and Bihar are the poorest states with poverty ratio of 47 and 43 respectively. Most of these states are facing rural as well as urban poverty.
States with poverty ratio less than the national average: Recent studies show that in 20 states and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average. There has been a significant decline in poverty ratio in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal.
States with low poverty ratio: States like Punjab, Haryana, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir have very low percentage of population living below the poverty line.

Question 6.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) What do you understand by human poverty?
(ii) Who are the poorest of the poor?
(iii) What are the main features of the National Rural Employ¬ment Guarantee Act, 2005?
Answer:
(i) Human poverty is a broader concept of poverty. Along with food it also includes other necessities of life like education, shelter, health care, job, security, social equality, etc.
(ii) Apart from the social groups, there is also inequality of incomes within a family. In poor families, all suffer, but some suffer more than others. Women, elderly people and female infants are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family. Therefore, women, children (especially the girl child) and old people are the poorest of the poor.
(iii) 1. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) 2005 was passed in September 2005.
2. The act provides 100 days assured employment to every rural household in 200 districts.
3. Later, the scheme will be extended to 600 districts. One- third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for women.
4. The central government will also establish National Employment Guarantee Funds.
5. Similarly, state governments will establish State Employment Guarantee Funds for implementation of the scheme.
6. Under the programme, if an applicant is not provided employment within fifteen days, he/she will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.

Question 7.
“There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction.” Explain.
Answer.

Over a period of thirty years lasting up to the early eighties, there were little per capita income growth and not much reduction in poverty. Official poverty estimates which were about 45 per cent in the early 1950s remained the same even in the early eighties.
Since the eighties, India’s economic growth has been one of the fastest in the world. The growth rate jumped from the average of about 3.5% a year in the 1970s to about 6 % cent during the 1980s and 1990s. The higher growth rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty.
Economic growth widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human development.

Question 8.
‘The results of poverty alleviation programmes have been mixed.’ Give any four reasons.
Answer:

One of the major reason for less effectiveness is the lack of proper implementation and right targeting.
There has been a lot of overlapping of schemes.
Overpopulation
Corruption

Poverty as a Challenge Class 9 Important Questions Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What are the major features of poverty? Explain.
Answer:

It also is a situation in which parents are not able to send their children to school or a situation where sick people cannot afford treatment.
Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.
It also means lack of regular job at a minimum decent level. Above all it means living with a sense of helplessness.
Poor people are in a situation in which they are ill-treated at almost every place, in farms, factories, government offices, hospitals, railway stations etc.
Poverty when looked through other social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation etc.

Question 2.
Describe the poverty trends in India since 1973. [CBSE March 2011,12]
Answer:

There has been a substantial decline in poverty ratios in India from about 55 per cent in 1973 to 30 per cent in 2009-10.
More than 56% of rural population was living below poverty in 1973 which has come down to 34%.
Around about 50 % of urban population was living below poverty in 1973 which has come down to 27%.
Although the percentage of people living under poverty declined in the earlier two decades (1973-1993), the number of poor remained stable around 320 million for a fairly long period.
- If the trend continues, people below poverty line may come down to less than 20 per cent in the next few years.

Question 3.
Identify the various groups vulnerable to poverty. [CBSE 2014]
Or
“The proportion of people below poverty line is also not same for all social groups and economic categories in India.” Explain.
Answer:

Social Groups: The social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households. Although the average for people below poverty line for all groups in India is 30, 48 out of 100 people belonging to scheduled tribes in rural areas are not able to meet their basic needs.
Economic groups: Similarly among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural agricultural labour households and the urban casual labour households.
Inequality with in family: Apart from these social groups, there is also inequality of incomes within a family. In poor families all suffer, but some suffer more than others. Women, elderly people and female infants are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family.

Therefore women, children (especially the girl child) and old people are poorest of the poor.

Question 4.
Explain some measures which have been taken by the government to remove poverty. [CBSE 2015]
Or
Describe the current government strategy to remove poverty in India.
Answer:
To remove poverty government has adopted two approaches:

Indirect approach: This covers achieving high economic growth rate, promotion of small scale industry, promotion of agriculture. This approach is also referred as trickle down effect. It was assumed that the development of industry and agriculture would create employment opportunities and income, which would lead to rapid economic development.
Direct approach: Under direct approach government has launched various poverty alleviation programmes and food schemes to target the poor directly.

The government has launched various poverty alleviation schemes to control poverty.

(i) National Rural Employ-ment Guarantee Act (NREGA) 2005: It was passed in September 2005. The Act provides 100 days assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts. Later, the scheme will be extended to 600 districts. One-third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for women. The central government will also establish National Employment Guarantee Funds. Similarly, state governments will establish State Employment Guarantee Funds for the implementation of the scheme. Under the programme, if an applicant is not provided employment within fifteen days, he/she will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.

(ii) National Food for Work Programme (NFWP): It was launched in 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country. The programme is open to all rural poor, who are in need of wage employment, and desire to do manual unskilled work. It is implemented as a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme, and food grains are provided free of cost to the states. Once the NREGA is in force, the NFWP will be subsumed within this programme.

(iii) The Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY): It was started in 1993. The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities for the educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns. They are helped in setting up small business and industries.

(iv) Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP): It was launched in 1995. The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns. A target for creating 25 lakh new jobs has been set for the programme under the Tenth Five Year Plan.

(v) Swamajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY): It was launched in 1999. The programme aims at bringing the assisted poor families
above the poverty line by organising them into self-help groups through a j mix of bank credit and government subsidy.

(vi) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY): It was launched in 2000, additional central assistance is given to states for basic services such as primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.

Question 5.
Explain any three major reasons for a widespread poverty in India.
Or
Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India. [CBSE 2015]
Answer:

British Rule: Britishers ruled India more than 100 years. Prior to the British rule, traditional industries, for instance, textiles, flourished in India. During the British rule, the government adopted policies to discourage such industries. This left millions of weavers poor. Even after fifty years of independent India, we can find a major section of the people engaged handicraft industries as , downtrodden.
Lack of industrialisation: India is very backward from the industrial point of view. Hardly 3 per cent of the total working population is engaged in the large- scale industry.
Over dependence on agriculture Even after more than 60 years of independence more than 60 per cent of our total population still depends on agriculture for its livelihood. Due to shortage of inputs, our agriculture is backward.
Inflationary pressure: Upward trend in prices adversely affects the poor sections of the society.
Unemployment: Due to lack of job opportunities, more than 90 lakhs of our total working force is unemployed.

Poverty as a Challenge Class 9 Important Questions Higher Order Thinking Skills (Hots) Questions

Question 1.
Study the given bar graph carefully, and answer the following questions:

Source: Economic Survey 2001-02, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
(i) Identify the three states where the poverty ratio is the highest.
(ii) Identify the three states where poverty ratio is the lowest.
(iii) Why the states named by you in part (i) have a high poverty ratio?
(iv) Why the states named by you in part (ii) have a low poverty ratio? Mention one reason.
Answer:
(i) Odisha, Bihar and Chattisgarh.
(ii) Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala.
(iii) Due to lack of job opportunities and high density of population.
(iv) Due to availability of work.

Question 2.
Study the given figure carefully, and answer the following questions:
(i) Which area/country of the world had the largest concentration of poor in 1981?
(ii) Name the regions/countries where poverty has decreased (any two).
(iii) Whether the poverty in South Asia is increasing or decreasing. Give reason.
Answer:
(i) China.
(ii) China, East Asia and the Pacific.
(iii) Poverty in South Asia is decreasing. In 1981 more than 50 per cent of the population
was living below the poverty line, but in 2001, it was approximately 30 per cent.

Question 3.
Study the given bar graph carefully, and answer the following questions:
(i) Name any two social groups are highly vulnerable to poverty.
(ii) What is an average Indian poverty ratio?
(iii) Name any two economic groups which are highly vulnerable to poverty.
Answer:
(i) Scheduled tribes arid Scheduled castes.
(ii) 30 per cent.
(iii) Rural agricultural labourer households and the urban casual labour households.

Poverty as a Challenge Class 9 Important Questions Value Based Questions

Question 1.
Suggest any four ways to reduce poverty in India. [CBSE 2015]
Answer:

There is need to invest in agriculture and industrial sector. The investment in both these sectors will lead to higher economic growth. The higher economic growth rate is expected to provide to more economic opportunities.
Increasing stress on universal free elementary education will help in the formation of human capital.
There is need to check high birth rate. The high birth rate leads to a mismatch between resources and population.
There is need for to empower women and economically weaker sections of society.

Question 2.
What is the basic aim of following poverty alleviation programmes?
(i) Prime Minister Rozgar Yozana (PMRY).
(ii) Rural Employment Gener¬ation Programme (REGP).
Answer:
(i) The scheme which was started in 1993. The aim of the programme is to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns. They are helped in setting up small business and industries.
(ii) Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) The aim of the programme is to create self employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns and to develop entrepreneurial skill and attitude among rural unemployed youth.

Question 3.
Mention any two causes of poverty in India.
Answer:

High growth rate of population.
Lack of job opportunities in the secondary sector.

Question 4.
How can poverty be reduced in future in India? Suggest any two points.
Answer:

Better Economic growth.
Increasing stress on universal free elementary education.

Question 5.
“Poverty is a curse upon humanity.” Explain by giving two examples.[CBSE 2015]
Answer:

Poverty is a curse because most of the poor people live with a sense of helplessnes.
Poor people are debarred from the basic necessity if life, i.e. good health, drinking water etc.

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