The Core Challenges: Poverty & Hunger
Poverty and hunger remain significant socio-economic challenges for India, despite decades of developmental efforts. These multifaceted issues encompass not just lack of income and food, but also deprivation of basic services, dignity, and opportunities.
The Indian state, guided by its constitutional commitment to a welfare society, has launched extensive policies and interventions, particularly focusing on food security, employment generation, and nutritional support. While initiatives like the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and MGNREGA have made substantial strides, persistent governance challenges related to targeting, leakages, and effective implementation underscore the need for continuous reforms and a multi-stakeholder approach involving local bodies and civil society.
Beyond Income: A Holistic View
Understanding poverty and hunger requires looking beyond mere statistics to the lived experiences of millions, recognizing the interconnectedness of economic, social, and cultural factors.
Understanding the Metrics
Poverty: Defining Deprivation
Absolute vs. Relative Poverty
Absolute: Inability to meet basic needs. Relative: Poor compared to others in society, reflecting inequality.
Multidimensional Poverty
Beyond income, includes health, education, living standards. Measured by MPI (NITI Aayog national MPI).
Poverty Line Evolution
- Tendulkar Committee (2009): Per capita consumption expenditure.
- Rangarajan Committee (2014): Suggested a higher poverty line.
Hunger: Beyond Empty Stomachs
Chronic vs. Seasonal Hunger
Chronic: Long-term caloric deficit. Seasonal: During specific periods (e.g., lean agriculture season).
Hidden Hunger
Micronutrient deficiencies (vitamins, minerals) despite sufficient caloric intake.
Global Hunger Index (GHI)
Measures hunger using four indicators: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality. India's ranking reflects persistent challenges.
Government Interventions: Pillars of Support
Key Initiatives in Focus
NFSA, 2013: A Legal Entitlement
Objective: To provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices. Converts existing food security programs into legal entitlements.
- Coverage: Covers up to 75% of rural and 50% of urban population (approx. 2/3rd of India's population).
- Entitlements: Priority Households (PHH) get 5 kg foodgrains per person/month (rice @ ₹3, wheat @ ₹2, coarse grains @ ₹1). Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households get 35 kg per household/month.
- Special Provisions: Nutritional support for pregnant women and lactating mothers (maternity benefit of at least ₹6,000), children (Mid-Day Meal, ICDS).
- Women Empowerment: Eldest woman in household (18+ years) is head of the household for ration cards.
Challenges in Implementation:
- Leakages: Diversion of food grains to open market.
- Targeting Errors: Inclusion (non-poor) & exclusion (poor) errors.
- Storage & Quality: Inadequate infrastructure, concerns about grain quality.
- One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC): Addresses migrant food security by allowing portability of ration cards.
Guaranteed Rural Employment
Objective: To enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Also aims to build durable assets.
- Features: Demand-driven scheme, legal right to work, focus on women (at least 1/3rd beneficiaries), Gram Panchayat as implementing agency, payment within 15 days.
- Impact: Significant role in poverty alleviation, rural wage growth, financial inclusion, women empowerment, asset creation, and providing social safety net (e.g., during COVID-19).
- Challenges: Delays in wage payments, corruption/leakages, administrative inefficiencies, insufficient work availability, low asset quality, debates on funding.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
Launched 1975. A flagship program providing a package of services (supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral services, pre-school non-formal education) to children (0-6 years), pregnant women, and lactating mothers. Delivered through Anganwadi Centres.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme (PM POSHAN)
Launched 1995 (renamed PM POSHAN in 2021). Provides cooked meals to children in government and government-aided schools to improve nutritional status, promote enrollment, and reduce dropout rates.
POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission)
Launched 2018. A multi-ministerial convergence mission to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anemia, and low birth weight. It uses technology, behavior change communication, and community mobilization.
Revolutionizing Welfare Delivery
Concept: A system where subsidies or welfare benefits are directly transferred to beneficiaries' bank accounts, leveraging Aadhaar for identification.
- Reduces Leakages & Corruption: Minimizes intermediaries, pilferage, and ghost beneficiaries.
- Improves Targeting: Ensures benefits reach the intended beneficiaries.
- Enhances Transparency: Creates a clear audit trail of financial transfers.
- Financial Inclusion: Encourages bank account opening (e.g., Jan Dhan Yojana) and digital literacy.
- Examples: LPG subsidy, scholarships, pensions, MGNREGA wages, fertilizer subsidies.
The true measure of any society's progress is how it treats its most vulnerable members.
- Adapted from Mahatma Gandhi
Multi-Stakeholder Approach
Effective poverty and hunger alleviation requires a collaborative effort beyond the central government, reaching deep into local communities.
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
As the third tier of government, PRIs are crucial for decentralized planning and implementation of schemes (NFSA, MGNREGA) at the grassroots. They enhance accountability through social audits and identify local needs.
Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
Provide micro-credit for livelihood generation, foster financial inclusion, and empower women economically and socially. They facilitate collective action on health, nutrition, and education.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) / NGOs
Complement government efforts in service delivery (food, health), advocate for rights, generate awareness, and monitor scheme implementation, providing vital checks and balances.
Empowering local institutions and fostering community-led initiatives are vital for sustainable development and ensuring benefits reach the last mile.
Deeper Dive: Analytical Insights
Mains-Ready Analytical Notes
Poverty and Hunger: Multidimensional Challenges
Poverty and hunger in India are complex, multidimensional issues extending beyond income and caloric intake to include deprivation in health, education, and living standards (as measured by MPI). Despite significant progress in reducing absolute poverty, challenges of persistent hunger (as reflected in GHI rankings), inequality, and regional disparities remain acute, necessitating a holistic approach.
Government Interventions: A Rights-Based Approach
The Indian state has adopted a rights-based approach to tackle poverty and hunger through initiatives like NFSA (2013) transforming food security into a legal entitlement, and MGNREGA (2005) providing a legal right to work. While progressive, these face governance challenges like targeting errors, leakages, and implementation issues.
DBT: Enhancing Efficiency and Transparency
Direct Benefit Transfer has revolutionized welfare delivery by leveraging technology. It significantly reduces leakages, improves targeting accuracy, and enhances transparency by eliminating intermediaries, thereby ensuring that benefits reach the intended poor more effectively. However, challenges related to digital literacy and infrastructure remain.
Challenges and Way Forward
- Data and Measurement: Need for more frequent and granular data on poverty and hunger to inform policy.
- Inter-sectoral Convergence: Ensuring better coordination and convergence among various schemes (health, education, nutrition, employment).
- Capacity Building: Strengthening the capacity of PRIs, SHGs, and local functionaries.
- Last-mile Delivery: Addressing issues of infrastructure, digital divide, and human resource gaps in remote areas.
- Climate Change Impact: Addressing the impact of climate change on agriculture and food security.
- Urban Poverty: Need for more focused interventions for urban poor, as many schemes are rural-centric.
- Sustainable Livelihoods: Moving beyond dole-outs to creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for the poor.
Contemporary Relevance
- COVID-19 Pandemic Impact: Highlighted critical role of NFSA & MGNREGA as safety nets, and ONORC for migrants.
- Global Hunger Index (GHI) Rankings: India's persistent low ranking prompts continuous policy review.
- Localization of SDGs: Achieving SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) heavily relies on effective grassroots implementation.
Recent Developments
Extension of Free Food Grains under PMGKAY
The Union Government extended the provision of free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for another five years (till December 2028). This significantly impacts food security and poverty alleviation. Source: PIB, November 2023
Focus on Fortified Rice Distribution
Ongoing mission to distribute fortified rice through PDS and other schemes to combat malnutrition and anemia, addressing 'hidden hunger'. Source: Ministry of Consumer Affairs
MGNREGA Wage Delays & Digitalization
Debates continue regarding timely wage payments under MGNREGA, with challenges arising from digital attendance (NMMS app) and Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS). Source: News reports
National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report
NITI Aayog's latest report (July 2023) indicates a significant decline in multidimensional poverty in India, attributing success to health, education, and living standards initiatives. Source: NITI Aayog, July 2023
Test Your Understanding
UPSC Prelims Previous Year Questions
Consider the following statements:
- The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a statutory body.
- The Chairperson of the NHRC is a retired Chief Justice of India or a retired Judge of the Supreme Court.
- The NHRC has the power to inquire into matters after the expiry of one year from the date on which the act constituting human rights violation is alleged to have been committed.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (a)
Original Multiple Choice Questions
Consider the following statements regarding the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013:
- It covers up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population as eligible households.
- Under the Act, every priority household is entitled to receive 35 kg of foodgrains per month.
- The eldest woman of the household, aged 18 years or above, is to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (c)
Explanation: Statement 2 is incorrect. Priority Households (PHH) are entitled to 5 kg foodgrains per person per month. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households get 35 kg per household per month.
Which of the following bodies or organizations is responsible for publishing the Global Hunger Index (GHI)?
- (a) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
- (b) World Health Organization (WHO)
- (c) International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Concern Worldwide
- (d) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
Answer: (c)
Explanation: The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is jointly published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Concern Worldwide (or Welthungerhilfe).
Original Descriptive Questions for Mains
"Despite significant strides in poverty alleviation, India continues to grapple with the complex challenges of poverty and hunger, necessitating a multi-pronged approach that transcends mere income-based interventions." Critically analyze the major government policies and interventions aimed at addressing poverty and hunger in India, discussing the persistent governance challenges that impede their full effectiveness. (15 marks)
Key Points/Structure:
- Introduction: Acknowledge progress, but emphasize multidimensional nature of poverty & hunger (MPI, GHI context).
- Major Government Policies: NFSA (legal entitlement), PDS evolution, ONORC, MGNREGA (100 days, asset creation), ICDS, PM POSHAN, POSHAN Abhiyaan (nutritional support), DBT (efficiency, transparency).
- Persistent Governance Challenges: Leakages & Corruption, Targeting Errors, Administrative Inefficiencies (wage delays), Infrastructure Gaps, Quality Issues, Data & Monitoring, Digital Divide, Inter-sectoral Convergence.
- Conclusion: Summarize that while robust policies exist, overcoming governance challenges is crucial for effective, equitable, and sustainable impact.
"The empowerment of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), particularly through initiatives like DAY-NRLM, has been a significant strategy for addressing poverty and hunger in rural India. However, persistent challenges impede their full potential." Discuss the role of SHGs in socio-economic development and poverty alleviation, analyzing the challenges they face and suggesting measures to enhance their sustainability and market linkages. (10 marks)
Key Points/Structure:
- Introduction: SHGs as powerful grassroots empowerment model.
- Role of SHGs: Financial Inclusion (micro-credit), Women Empowerment, Livelihood Generation, Social Mobilisation, Skill Development, Convergence with DAY-NRLM.
- Challenges: Quality of SHGs, Sustainability, Market Linkages (major hurdle), Capacity Building, Regional Disparities, Dependency on External Facilitators.
- Measures for Sustainability & Market Linkages: Strengthen Financial Management, Value Chain Integration, Market Access (e-commerce, retail), Skill Upgradation, Federation of SHGs, Policy Support, Leveraging Technology.
- Conclusion: Reiterate SHGs' potential, emphasizing critical areas for enhanced support.