Haryana State Board HBSE 9th Class Social Science Solutions Economics Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.
Haryana Board 9th Class Social Science Solutions Economics Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge
HBSE 9th Class Social Science Economics Poverty as a Challenge Intext Questions and Answers
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Poverty As A Challenge HBSE 9th Class Question 1.
Why do different countries use different poverty lines?
Answer:
A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given “minimum level” necessary to fulfill basic needs. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs is different at different times and in different countries. Therefore, poverty line may vary with.time and place. Each country uses an imaginary line that is considered appropriate for its existing level of development and its accepted minimum social norms.
Poverty As A Challenge Class 9 Exercise HBSE Question 2.
What do you think is the minimum necessary level in your locality?
Answer:
Students are required to do it themselves.
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Important Questions Of Poverty As A Challenge Class 9 HBSE Question 1.
Study the Table 3.1 and answer the following questions.
Estimates of Poverty in India
| Poverty ratio (%) | Number of poor (in milliqns) | |||||
| Year | Ru-ral | Ur-ban | Com-bined | Ru-ral | Ur-ban | Com-bined |
| 1973-74 | 56.4. | 49.0 | 54.9 | 261 | 60 | 321 |
| 1993-94 | 37.3 | 32.4 | 36.0 | 244 | 76 | 320 |
| 1999-00 | 27,1 | 23.6 | 26.1 | 193 | 67 | 260 |
Source:
Econnomic Survey 2002-03, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Even if poverty ratio declined between 1973-74 and 1993-94, why did the number of poor remain at about 320 million?
Are the dynamics of poverty reduction the same in rural and urban India?
Answer:
(i) The number of poor remain at about 320 million due to increasing population and shifting of people from rural to urban areas.
(ii) The dynamics of poverty reduction are not same in rural and urban India whereas as poverty level is continously declining in rural India it is not so in urban area’s. In the year 1993-94 poverty in urban areas infact increased.
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Observe some of the poor families around you and try to find the following:
(i) Which social and economic group do they belong to?
(ii) Who are the earning members in the family?
(iii) What is the condition of the old people in the family ?
(iv) Are all the children (boys and girls) attending schools?
Answer:
Students should do it themselves.
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Question 1.
Study the graph 3.2 and do the following:
(i) Identify the three states where, the poverty ratio is the highest
(ii) Identify the three states where poverty ratio is lowest.
Note-See the graph on page No. 114
Answer:
(i) Poverty ratio is highest in Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
(ii) Poverty ratio is lowest in Jammu Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
Question 2.
Study die graph 3.4 and do the following
(i) Identify the area of the world, where poverty ratios have declined.
(ii) Identify the area of the globe which has the largest concentration of poor.
Answer:
(i) Poverty has declined substantially in China and South-east Asian countries.
(ii) Sub-Saharan Africa, has the largest concentration of poor.
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Question 1.
Describe how the poverty line is measured fat India. .
Answer:
In India while determining the poverty line, a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational andmedical requirements are determined for subsistence. These physical quantities are mulitplied by their prices in rupees. The present formula for food requirement while estimating the poverty line is based on the desired calories requirement. The calories needs vary depending on age, sex and thefype of work that a person does. The accepted calories requirement in India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in urban areas.
Poverty line is also measured on die basis of monetary expenditure per capita needed for buying these calorie requirements in terms of food-grains etc. On the basis of these calculations, for the year2000, the poverty line
for a person was fixed at Rs 328 per month for the rural areas and Rs 454 for the urban areas.
Question 2.
Do you think the present methodology for poverty estimation is appropriate.
Answer:
The present method of measuring poverty is not adequate. It takes into consideration the minimum subsistence level and not the reasonable level of living. There is need to broaden the concept of poverty. A large number of people may be able to feed themselves but they do not have access to other necessities like education, sanitation, health, job security etc. They may not be free from caste and gender discrimination etc. Thus definition of poverty should be changed. Apart from food all the above things should be brought into its preview.
Question 3.
Describe poverty trends in India since 1973.
Answer:
There is a Substantial decline fit- poverty ratios in India from about 55 percent in 1973 to 36 percent in 1993. The proportion of people below poverty line further came down to about 26 percent in 2000. If the trend continues, people below poverty line may come down to less than 20 percent in the next ew years. Although, the percentage erf people living below poverty has decUned in the earlier two decades the number of poor remained stable around 320 million for a fairly long period. The latest estimates indicate a significant reduction in the number of poor to about 260 million.
Question 4.
Discuss the major reasons for poverty tit India.
Answer:
There are various reasons for poverty in India. Few of them ate listed below.
(i) British policy-The historical reason is the low level of economic development under the British colonial administration. The policies of colonial government ruined the traditipnal handicrafts and discouraged development of industries like textiles.
(ii) Tow economic growth rate-The low rate of growth persisted until the nineteen eighties. This resulted in less job opportunities ‘ and low growth rate of incomes.
(iii) High growth rate of the population-The growth rate of population was very high. It combined with low economic growth rate to make the growth rate of percent income very low.
(iv) Migration of people from rural to urban , areas-Due to heavy pressure on agricultural land and absence of alternative occupation in rural areas people started migrating to urban areas. This intensified the problem of urban poverty. These people could not find job with adequate income therefore, started living in slums and under unhygienic conditions.
(v) Unequal distribution of income and wealth-One of the major reasons of poverty” is the high income in equalities. The main cause of it is the unequal distribution of land. Land reforms that aimed at the redistribution of assets and improvement of the poor in rural areas were not implemented effectively.
(vi) Social factors like-illiteracy-Large size of family, law of inheritance, and caste system are, also responsible for prevalence of poverty-ridden people.
Question 5.
Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty in India.
Answer:
The proportion of people below poverty line is not same for all social groups and. economic categories in India. Social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty. are scheduled castes and scheduled tribe households. Similarly, among the economic groups the most vulnerable groups are the rural agricultural labour households and the urban casual labour households.
Question 6.
Give an account of interstate disparities in poverty in India.
Answer:
The proportion of poor people is not the same in every state. Though there is a decline in state level poverty, the success rate of reducing poverty varies from state to state. Recent estimates show that in 20 states and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average. On the other hard, poverty is still a serious problem in Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Tripura arid Uttar. Pradesh: Orissa and Bihar ate the poorest state with poverty ratios of 47 and 43 percent respectively. Along with rural poverty, urban poverty is also high in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh) Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
In comparison, there has been a significant decline in poverty, in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir;’Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal. States like Punjab arid Haryana have traditionally succeeded in reducing poverty with The help of high agricultural growth rates. They have succeeded in reducing poverty due to human resource development. In West Bengal, land reform measures have helped in bringing down poverty levels. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu public distribution system have been responsible for the improvement.
Question 7.
Describe global poverty trends.
Answer:
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 per cent in 1990 to 21 per Cent 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.
Number of poors in China has come down from 606 million in 1981 to 212 million in 2001; Dt fhe countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan) the decline has notbeen as rapid. Despite 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 per cent in 1981 to 46 per cent in 2001. 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 non-existent earlier. The Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations calls for reducing the proportion of people living on less than $ 1 a day to half, the 1990 level by 2015.
Question 8.
Describe current government strategy of poverty alleviation.
Answer:
The currentanti-poverty strategy of the government is bajjed broadly on two planks-
(i) promotion of economic growth.
(ii) targeted anti-poverty programmes:
(i) Promotion of economic growth:
for a long period percentage of poor (45) remained stagnant. It started falling with tire increase in economic growth rate in eighties. The growth rate increased from 3.5 percent in 1970’s to about 6 percent during 1980’s and 1990’s The higher growth, rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty.
Thus; there is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction. Economic growth widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human development. This also encourages people to send their children, including girls, to schools in the hope of getting better economic returns from investing in education.
(ii) Targeted anti-poverty programmes:
The poor are not able to take advantage from the opportunities created by economic growth. Moreover growth in agriculture is much below expectations. Therefore, there is a clear need for targetted anti-poverty programmes. Some of these are as follows:
(iii) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (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.
(b) National Food for Work Programme:
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 work. It is implemented as a 100 percent centrally sponsored, scheme and food-grains are provided free of cost to the states.
(iii) Prime Minister Rozgar Yozana-It was started in 1993. In it youths are helped in settiiig up small business and industries in rural areas and small towns.
(iv) Rural Employment Generation Programme-It was launched in 1995. The aim of the programme is to create self employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns. A target of creating 25 lakh hew jobs has. been set up for the programme under the tenth five-year plan.
(v) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-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 mix of bank credit and government subsidy.
(vi) Pradhan Mantri Gramoda/a Yozana – 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 9.
Answer file 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 Employment Guarantee Act 2005?
Answer:
(i) Today many scholars advocate that one must broaden the concept of poverty into human poverty. By it they mean that while measuring poverty instead of minimum subsistence level we must consider reasonable 5 level of living. It must include in its purview availability of basic education, health care, sanitation, job security gender equality etc.
(ii) Women, children and old people are poorest of file poor.
(iii) Main features of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 are:
(a) It provides 100 days assured employment every year to every rural household in 200 districts.
(b) One-third of the proposed jobs would be reserved for’ women.
(c) If the.applicant is not provided employment within fifteen days he/she will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.
HBSE 9th Class Social Science Economics Poverty as a Challenge Important Questions and Answers
Question 1.
What is poverty ?
Or
Explain the term ‘poverty’.
Answer:
Poverty means a situation in which a person is unable to get minimum basic necessities of life i:e. food, clothing and shelter for his or her sustenance.
Question 2.
What is poverty line?
Answer:
Poverty line is referred to as minimum requirement for basic necessities.
Question 3.
Mention two measures to alleviate poverty in India.
Answer:
Measures to reduce poverty in India are-
(a) to create more employment opportunities.
(b) to check the growth of population.
Question 4.
How social scientists look at poverty ?
Answer:
Social scientists look at poverty through a variety of indicators. Usually the indicators used relate to the levels of income and consumption. But now the poverty is looked through other social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to health care, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water etc
Question 5.
Who estimates poverty line in India?
Answer:
National-sample survey organisation.
Question 6.
What is the poverty line for a person according to the 2000 census?
Answer:
According to the year 2000, the poverty line of a person is Rs. 328 per month, for the rural areas and Rs. 454 for urban areas.
Question 7.
Mention the three most poor states of India.
Answer:
The there most poor states of India are Orissa, Bihar and Mahdya Pradesh.
Question 8.
What is the poverty line an defined by the World Bank?
Answer:
Poverty line as defined by the world bank is the people living on less than $ 1 per day:
Question 9.
How does growth rate in population increase poverty in a country? Explain.
Answer:
Population growth is one of the major causes of unemployment in India: When the. number of people increases in a country much faster than the increase in employment opportunities, that situation may lead to unemployment. Since the pressure of population on agriculture/primary sector is already very high, the responsibility of creating new jobs is to be borne and shared by the secondary and tertiary sector.
Question 10.
Explain the term ‘poverty7?
Answer:
Poverty is a situation in which a person is unable to get minimum basic necessities of life, i.e. food, clothing and shelter for his or her sustenance. Such people are called as poverty ridden or people living below poverty line. When a larger section of the people in an economy is deprived of these basic necessities that economy is said to be in mass poverty. During 1999-2000, approximately 26 crore people in India were reported to be poverty ridden.
Question 11.
Explain any four causes of poverty.
Answer:
Four causes of poverty are-
(i) Unemployment-When With the increase in population, employment opporhihities does not grow at the same rate, it results in poverty
(ii) Social factors-Social factors like illiteracy, ignorance; fatalism and joint family system have stopped from adopting modem ideas and techniques so that they could not increase their income.
(iii) Underutilised natural resources-The resources have not been, fully utilised. The bulk of our resources are still lying unused.
(iv) Backward agriculture-There is lack of basic facilities like water, fertiliser, pesticides etc. The productivity is low’and Indian farmer remains poor.
Question 12.
Explain structural aitd cyclical unemployment. Give one example of each.
Answer:
Structural unemployment-If in an economy, there is no capital or resources to provide employment to all the labour force that situation is referred to as structural unemployment. The nature of unemployment in India is parly structural. “India does not have sufficient capital to employ labourers working in agriculture. Cyclical unemployment-When there is unemployment due to shortage of demand for %oods, it is referred to as cyclical unemployment. It generally occurs in capitalist countries.
Question 13.
Explain any two measures undertaken by government to alleviate poverty in rural India.
Answer:
Programmes started by government to alleviate poverty in rural/ areas are as follows –
(i) Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana-The objective of the programme is to help the existing poor families to come above the poverty line. It is actually a sponsored scheme and is in operation in all – the development blocks of the country since 1980. Under it families below poverty line are provided financial assistance.
The objectives of the programme is, to give employment, to those, men and women who do not get sufficient days of employment in rural areas. This programme aims at creation of community assets such as Social forestry/ soil conservation, minor irrigation projects, and renovation of village wells, rural roads, schools etc.
Question 14.
What are the methods to measure poverty* line?
Answer:
Methods to measure poverty line-
(i) Expenditure method-Firstly, for each person the minimum nutritional food requirement for survival is measured. Then it is converted into equivalent money value i.e. rupees. Apart from food, money required for other items is also added into it. This total equivalent amount is considered as poverty line. An those families which spend less than the poverty line, are considered as below poverty line families.
(ii) Income method-In this method, all those families whose total income in a month is less than foe poverty line as fixed- by the government are considered to be belowpoverty line.families.
Question 15.
How did government table problems of poverty in foe initial stages of economic planning.
Answer:
In the initial, stages of. economic of poverty from four dimensions, as given below—
(i) The government believed that efforts towards developing foe heavy industries and green revolution would create employment opportunities and incomes, which would lead to rapid economic development
(ii) Several land reform measures such as abolition of zamindari system, security of tenant farmers against eviction, fixation of rents, ceilings on land holdings and distribution of surplus land etc.
(iii) Small scale and cottage industries were encouraged.
(iv) An attempt was made to reduce gap between rich and poor through income and wealth redistribution.
Question 16.
Explain social exclusion concept of poverty.
Answer:
According to this concept, poverty must bee seen in terms of the poor having to -live only in a poor surroundings with other poor people, excluded from enjoying social equality of better off people in better surroundings. Social exclusion can be both a cause as well as a consequence of poverty in foe usual sense. Broadly, it is a process-through which individuals or groups are excluded from facilities, benefits and opportunities that others enjoy.
Question 17.
What is vulnerability ?
Or
Explain the concept of vulnerability.
Answer:
Vulnerability to poverty is a measure which describes the greater probability of certain communities or individuals of becoming or remaining poor in the coming years. Vulnerability is determined by the finding an alternative living in terms ojf assets, education, health and job opportunities. Further it is analysed on the basis of greater risks these groups face at the time of natural disasters. Additional analysis is made of their social and economic ability to handle these risks.
Question 18.
How indebtedness of farmers is responsible for poverty ?
Or
How indebtedness of fanners is both the cause and effect of poverty ?
Answer:
Small farmers need money to buy agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizer, pesticides etc. Since poor people hardly have any savings, they borrow from money- 7 lenders. Money-lenders give them loan at very high interest rates. Therefore, they are unable to repay these’ loans because of poverty. They become victims, of indebtedness. So the high level of indebtedness is both the cause and effect of poverty.
Question 19.
Examine the causes of poverty and explain any three measures adopted to remove poverty in India. r
Answer:
Causes of poverty-
(i) Britishers adopted the policy to discourage traditional industries. This has left millions of weavers poor.
(ii) Excessive dependency on agriculture has resulted in low ievel of income for the rural masses.
(iii) Majority of the rural poor do not have enough land and machinery. They are mostly landless labourers and people without work.
(iv) Social factors like illiteracy, large size of family, law of inheritance and caste system are also responsible for prevalence of poverty ridden people.
Poverty alleviation programmes-
(i) Swarnajayanti Grain Swarojgar Yojana-It is a centrally sponsored scheme which is in operation since 1980. It provides financial assistance to rural poor.
(ii) JawaharGram Samriddhi Yojana-Its objective is to generate employment for those men and women who do not get sufficient days, of employment in rural areas.
(iii) Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana and Swarnajayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana-These schemes are aimed at the welfare of the educated unemployed in urban areas. It aims to provide self employment to the educated unemployed in the age group of 18 to 35, particularly, in the urban areas. Employment Assurance Scheme and Pradhanmantri Gramodaya Yojana were launched in 1999 and 2000-01.
Some Important Facts
1. Poverty-It is a situation in which a person is unable to get minimum basic necessities of life.
2. Poverty line-It is the minimum requirement for basic necessities.