Assessing Indian poverty: Bleak House or Great Expectations?

There has been a remarkable reduction in multidimensional poverty and also levels of inequality on key selected measures

- V. Anantha Nageswaran , Devi Prasad Misra

The estimation of poverty (or prosperity) has received considerable institutional and academic attention. In India, the pioneering work was perhaps Dadabhai Naoroji’s Poverty and unBritish Rule in India. Subsequently, several experts [Dandekar & Rath (1971); Alagh (1979); Lakdawala (1993); Tendulkar (2009) et al] have all attempted to answer the question of the numbers in poverty.

Without routinely reported direct figures to go by, poverty estimates have typically been constructed based on surveys. However, a simple headcount of the poor, which measures incomes and/or consumption, is unlikely to capture the complete picture. This is because several factors, such as ownership of assets, access to welfare schemes/services and quality of social services like education and health, have a bearing on the quality of life of an individual. Further, it is possible that gains in the quality of life of the ‘poor’ are entirely missed unless the Rubicon of the poverty line is crossed. That is, poverty has traditionally been measured against a defined standard/level. However, the intensity of poverty can vary even within that standard, which itself is a subject of much debate.