F14-Poverty

Is the decline in multidimensional poverty in India real

Is the decline in multidimensional poverty in India real? Arun Kumar·August 6, 2023 https://theleaflet.in/is-the-decline-in-multidimensional-poverty-in-india-real/  the NITI Aayog has reported that multidimensional poverty in India has declined sharply between 2015–16 (when it was 24.85 percent) and 2019–21 (when it was 14.96 percent).  the multidimensional poverty index is based on three broad dimensions— health, education and living standard... Change in multidimensional poverty is then obtained by comparing the data from the fifth National Family Health Survey (NHFS5) (2019–21) with data from NHFS4 (2015–16). NHFS5 is based on two surveys over two years. This is odd because 2020–21 was an abnormal year due to the pandemic. 

The NITI Aayog report mentions that 70 percent of the data was collected in the earlier year, 2019–20, just before the pandemic. during the pandemic year of 2020–21, incomes, employment, education and health parameters for the poor suffered a huge setback. The data from 2019–20 is not enough to represent the pandemic and lockdown year of 2020–21. 

data on individual variables in NHFS5 is not only suspect due to the impact of the pandemic, as argued above, but also on grounds that the official data often does not represent the correct picture.

At the  launch of his book,The Crooked Timber of New India Dr . Prabhakar Parakala  was asked about the MDP claim     https://www.youtube.com/embed/BYQdK0cpBmA?start=5328&end=5863   

 

Documents Reveal NITI Aayog Pushed Govt to Privatise PDS, Slash Free Food Coverage, Subsidies

 https://thewire.in/government/documents-reveal-niti-aayog-pushed-govt-to-privatise-pds-slash-free-food-coverage-subsidies 

In the latest Union budget presented on February 2, there was a deep slash in foodgrain subsidy for the poor, with a massive 63% cut. To achieve this cost-saving measure, the government in December 2022 put an end to the free-food scheme that was rolled out during the COVID-19, rejigged other schemes under the National Food Security Act and rebranded them under the prime minister’s name.

The government’s arguments in the court against expanding the food security programme align with the recommendations of the NITI Aayog. It quoted some of the Aayog’s views in its affidavits submitted to the Supreme Court. Budget numbers show plans to reduce food subsidies by Rs 1,79,844 crore in the next fiscal despite the court’s directive to expand the number of beneficiaries.

The Aayog recommended that the government re-examine whether it is “feasible and desirable” to “continue providing cheaper food grains to nearly two-thirds of the population”, reveal documents.

by Shreegireesh Jalihal

10/02/2023

Budget Unresponsive to Needs of Poor, Biased Towards Big Corporates: Activists

Budget 2023-24 has continued the trend of reduced spending on the social sector despite the ongoing economic crisis, which hit the country before the COVID-19 pandemic and has impacted those at the bottom of the pyramid the most, the Right to Food Campaign has charged. The Campaign, which is a collective of activists working in the field of food security, said the Government of India has massively reduced the allocation for major social security schemes.
https://thewire.in/rights/budget-2023-food-security-women-unresponsive 
It said while the need of the hour was to continue with the additional foodgrains being provided under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and to expand the Public Distribution System to include non-ration card holders and also distribute pulses and oils, the Budget has actually reduced the food subsidy allocation by over Rs 89,000 crore. As for the Rs 1.97 lakh crore that has been allocated, it said, this was barely enough to meet the requirements of the regular entitlements under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
Another member Anjali Bhardwaj, who is also a founder of Satark Nagrik Sangathan, said while on the one hand ration entitlements have been halved, on the other hand, there is no provision for food security for those without ration cards in the budget. “The coverage under NFSA in terms of the number of the people entitled to have ration cards was determined on the basis of the 2011 census and was to be increased after the next census of 2021,” she said, adding that the government has, however, not undertaken the census on the pretext of COVID-19 though all other activities are fully underway.
Giving the example of the Ujjwala scheme, she said, though the government gave gas cylinders, it soon began increasing the price of gas which made refills prohibitively expensive for most households.
read more 08/02/2023
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
  

Government of India cuts ration entitlements by 50% of 81 crore people

On 23rd December 2022, the Union government announced that it would discontinue the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) from January 1, 2023. This means that from January onwards, the ration entitlement of people will be halved- they will be entitled to only 5 kgs ration per person (normal NFSA entitlement) instead of the current 10 kgs ration per person (NFSA+PMGKAY). However, to mask the harshness of the announcement, the government also announced that for one year starting from January 2023 the food grains under National Food Security Act, 2013, (NFSA) will be provided free of cost i.e. the subsidised price of Rs. 3 per kg and Rs. 2 per kg for rice and wheat will be waived off.

https://countercurrents.org/2022/12/government-of-india-cuts-ration-entitlements-by-50-of-81-crore-people/ 

 A family of five will now be forced to spend Rs. 750-900 per month just in order to access the current level of ration entitlement. They will save only around Rs. 55 on account of the NFSA ration being made free. The halving of ration entitlement and a resulting huge rise in expenditure can in no way be termed ‘historic’. This extremely regressive step is coming at a time when the government has once again started putting out advisories and announcing measures to control another potential wave of COVID.

by Right to Food Campaign

30/12/2022

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Poverty Index 2022

अंतराष्ट्रीय रिपोर्ट से हाहाकार ! पूरा देश दंग रह गया ! गोदी मीडिया में सन्नाटा | PM Modi | BJP-RSS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5cQa_PYuLI 
4,458 views Oct 15, 2022

Global Hunger Index 2022: छह पायदान फिसलकर 107वें स्थान पर भारत, श्रीलंका-पाकिस्तान भी हमसे बेहतर https://www.amarujala.com/india-news/global-hunger-index-2022-india-rank-is-107-of-121-countries-news-in-hindi  प्रांजुल श्रीवास्तव Sat, 15 Oct 2022

  1. 68% of Indians still earn less than $2/day.
  2. 'Revadi culture' exists because poverty exists
  3. MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX
  4. India ranks Shamefully in World Hunger Index, 107th out of 121 countries
  5. Esther Duflo

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