Tag: understanding poverty

The Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains. In India, after Green Revolution, production of many crops has increased many times. The production of wheat was just 88 lakh tones in 1955-56.Now it has crossed 718 lakh tones.  India adopted a new strategy in agriculture in which HYV, insecticides and pesticides were used which resulted in Green Revolution or great production of wheat and rice. The highest rate of growth was achieved in Punjab and. Haryana where food grain production jumped from 7.23 million tons in 1964-65 to an all time high of 30.33 million tons in 1995. The success of wheat was later replicated in rice production.  

The poverty line in India is income based. The poverty line was originally fixed in terms of income or food requirements in 1978. It was stipulated that the calorie standard for a typical individual in rural areas were 2400 calorie and was 2100 calorie in urban areas. Then the cost of the grains that fulfill this normative standard was calculated. This cost was the poverty line.

The World Bank definition of poverty line for countries like India is 1.25 $ per day, that is 365 $ per year. The government of India has defined the poverty line in rural areas as Rs 276 per month and in urban areas as Rs 296. 

Agriculture has been an essential industry for nearly all major economies in the world. These countries use agriculture to drive international trade and create jobs. In the United States, agriculture is one of the most export dependent sectors of the economy with one-third of US agricultural production exported annually. Developing countries have realized the importance of creating economic growth through agricultural production and exports. With an increasing global population, agriculture has provided emerging economies opportunities for growth and integration into the global economic picture.

The Planning Commission of India established the calorie requirement for rural areas at 2400 calories per person per day, while for urban areas it is 2100 calories.

West Bengal is often cited in economic studies for its success in poverty reduction, which is largely attributed to the implementation of land reform measures.

India was one of the first countries in the world to initiate a state-sponsored family planning programme in 1952.

Chronic hunger is a consequence of persistent poverty, where individuals have very low incomes that prevent them from purchasing sufficient food on a regular basis.

Antyodaya Anna Yojana was launched in December 2000. Under this scheme one crore of the poorer among the BPL families, covered by the Public Distribution System (PDS) were identified. Twenty-five kilograms of food grains were made available to each of the eligible family at a highly subsidised rate.

Seasonal Hunger- Seasonal hunger persists only during a particular part of the season. It is linked with the cycles of food growing and harvesting. In the rural areas the seasonal hunger is prevalent because of the seasonal  nature of agricultural activities.