Can you tell me what can be bought Rs. 20 in current times when commodity costs are nearly doubling in few years and inflation is consistently in double-digits? One cannot even buy a litre of milk for Rs. 20, forget about having an entire meal.
But that is the cut-off point that planning commission folks have given for BPL(Below Poverty Line) families. What it means is that any family spending more than Rs. 20 a day (Rs. 578 a month to be precise) on their basic needs cannot be termed as Poor!
According to planning commission, A family cannot be deemed as poor if their average monthly spend is more than Rs. 31 on rent and
conveyance, Rs. 18 on education, Rs. 25 on medicines or Rs 36.5 on vegetables.
And this limit is for urban people – In rural areas, this figure is even lower at Rs. 15 a day for all expenses put together!
If you consider World Bank figures as to what should generally constitute a Poverty line cut-off, it is 1.25 US Dollars a day, whereas at Rs. 20 (about 43 cents), India’s cut-off is three times lower!
Ain’t this ridiculous !
And, these figures are the basis to calculate the poor in our country! Even with such ridiculous numbers,41.8% of the rural and 25.7% or urban population is defined as being poor.
Honestly, I don’t believe that 1 in 4 urbanites and 2 out 5 villagers are living on less than Rs. 20 a day (Surprisingly,this article feels that the number should be more).
But
this figure is probably inflated because most of the Indians hide their earnings to get the BPL status, which allows them subsidized food, accommodation, pensions and medical treatment among other things.
As per TOI report ::IIM-B students experience what it is to be poor
Just Rs 20 in pocket. Surviving on single banana for breakfast, rice dish from roadside vendor for lunch, biscuits for tea time. Not a life that you would expect the future CEOs from the most prestigious B-school of the country to lead. But this is what some of the IIM-B students experienced for a day early this week — just to know what it is to be poor.
As part of their elective programme 'Inclusive Business Models', 75 students were exposed to another world, one which many of them have only heard about — that of people who live with just Rs 20 per day (the below poverty line cut-off).
The students, in groups of five, went to different slums in and around Bangalore, interacted with the slum-dwellers, trying to understand their lives and finally come up with suitable business solutions that can help them. Interestingly, some of them even went on to experiment what it is to live with only Rs 20 to get a hands-on experience.
"My strategy was to have two meals — Rs 10 each. But I wanted to make sure that it was wholesome so that I do not feel hungry in between. I could not get anything from campus for that.
So I ventured into the smaller lanes outside the campus. I could get three akki rotis and two bananas within Rs 10. I know it's not possible for me to survive for a long time like this, but may be for a day or two. It was a life-time experience, it makes you realise the value of money,' said Justin T. "Mine was an abject failure. I found it was impossible to live with Rs 20. I did not touch my car, used the mobile only to receive calls, went out to Bilekahalli market to get bananas, ate from roadside vendors, got low quality vegetables, yet it did not fit in," said Varun Sharma.
While some gave up smoking for the day as cigarettes were expensive, there were others who gave up on luxuries like using a laptop.
"The cost reduction options are to buy old, partially damaged vegetables from vendors in the evenings, used oil from hotels, low quality rice, pulses or ragi, pickle sachets, leftovers of chicken/lamb from butchers (like neck or intestine), seasonal leafy vegetables or green chillies," said Vishnu P, a student, in his presentation on the experience.
From understanding the aspirations of the slum-dwellers to sending their children to English medium schools and to travel in a Volvo bus to the penetration of shampoos and soaps, the students got a peek into the lives of the poor. Speaking to dhobis, a 16-year-old school dropout who is the family bread winner and a 61-year-old construction labourer was an eye-opener for many of the students.
They are also exposed to the experiences of other players in the field like rural BPOs. The students at the end of the programme have to come up with business models that can help the poor. "Most of our students are not exposed to that kind of a life otherwise. The intention of this course is to explore whether it is possible to have a sustainable business model that can help the underprivileged,'' said Gita Sen, professor, Centre for Public Policy.
planning Commission said in SC and claimed that an expenditure of Rs 20 per day on essentials for those living in urban areas and Rs 15 for those living in rural India was enough to keep them out of poverty and,therefore,out of the governments social security net...!!the apex court too had suggested that the government take another look at whether an daily spend of Rs 20 could keep people well fed and above the poverty line.
The poverty line of Rs 20 works out from the Rs 578 per month per capita expenditure the Planning Commission considers ample for a city dweller to survive on.As per its report,this includes Rs 31 a month on rent and conveyance,Rs 18 a month on education and Rs 25 a month on medicines and Rs 36.5 a month on vegetables.Anyone spending a paisa more than this is officially not poor....!!
What is your take on this ?
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