NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science Economics Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge contains the solutions to the exercises given in the textbook. These solutions also contain answers to all the let’s discuss questions. These NCERT solutions are useful for students as they help to score high marks in the exams.
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 3 Let’s Discuss
Let’s Discuss Page no. 32
Question 1: Why do different countries use different poverty lines?
Answer: Different countries use different poverty lines because
(a) The calorie requirement of different human races is different depending on their physical condition and dietary habits. Those races which have greater height and build require higher calories.
(b) The per capita income in different countries is also different i.e., per capita income is higher in developed countries as compared to developing countries.
(c) The standard of living of Western countries is higher than that of developing countries.
(d) The cost of essential items used in calculating poverty line is higher in the developed countries.
Question 2: What do you think would be the “minimum necessary level” in your locality?
Answer: I live in a city so the poverty line should be calculated according to the urban area. In the year 2000, the urban poverty line was fixed at 454 per month per person. Now in the year 2012 seeing the high level of inflation and price rise it should be at least 1500 per person per month.
Let’s Discuss Page no. 33
Question 1: Study Table 3.1 and answer the following questions:
(a) Even if poverty ratio declined between 1993–94 and 2004–05, why did the number of poor remain at about 407 million?
(b) Are the dynamics of poverty reduction the same in rural and urban India?
Answer: (a) The poverty ratio declined between 1073-74 and 1993-94 but the number of poor remained at about 320 million because the total population of the country increased during the same period. Out of this increased population, more people got employment due to the green Revolution, establishment of more industries and growth of the tertiary sector. As result the poverty ratio declined.
(b) No, the dynamics of poverty reduction are not the same in rural and urban areas because the conditions in both the areas are completely different. Urban area poverty has decreased due to expansion of the service sector, increased industrialisation and consequent increase of jobs. This has resulted in migration to cities and towns from rural areas. Rural area poverty has reduced due to improved agricultural practices resulting in higher incomes. Some contribution to this improvement is due to the migration to urban areas.
Let’s Discuss Page no. 32
Observe some of the poor families around you and try to find the following:
Question 1: Which social and economic group do they belong to?
Answer: There is a poor family living near our colony. They are living below the poverty line and belong to the lowest socio-economic category.
Question 2: Who are the earning members in the family?
Answer: The wife and husband are casual construction labourers and they are the earning members of the family.
Question 3: What is the condition of the old people in the family?
Answer: The old people of the family, i.e., the grandparents are physically weak and suffering of old age diseases and problems without proper medical aid.
Question 4: Are all the children (boys and girls) attending schools?
Answer: There are two girls and one boy in the family. Because of poverty, the father of the children Bhola is only able to send his son to school and the daughters help in the household work.
Let’s Discuss Page no. 36
Question 1: Study the Graph 3.2 and do the following:
(a) Identify the three states where the poverty ratio is the highest.
(b) Identify the three states where poverty ratio is the lowest.
Answer: (a) Three states where poverty ratio is the highest are
(i) Orissa 47.2%,
(ii) Bihar 42.6%,
(iii) Madhya Pradesh 37.4%
(b) Three states where the poverty ratio is the lowest are
(i) Himachal Pradesh 7.6%
(ii) Punjab 6.2%
(iii) Jammu and Kashmir 3.5%
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Economics Chapter 3 Exercises
Exercises
Question 1: Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India?
Answer: As per 2000 figures; a family of five which is earning less than Rs. 1,640 per month is considered to be living below the poverty line. This figure is Rs. 2,270 per month for the urban area.
The expected calorie intake has been fixed at 2400 calories per person in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas. A person consuming less than this amount is considered to be living below the poverty line.
Question 2: Do you think that present methodology of poverty estimation is appropriate?
Answer: No, the present-day methodology of poverty estimation does not seem to be completely appropriate. This is because the only factor is taken into consideration is the economic status and moreover, it considers a minimum subsistence of living instead of a reasonable status of living. Poverty, today is a larger concept than only the economic status of the people. With advancements and development, the definition of poverty has also changed. People may have been able to feed themselves and their family but education, shelter, health, job security and dignity al are still at a threat. To overcome poverty entirely, all the above-mentioned factors also need to be kept in consideration. To completely remove poverty from the country, the methodology to estimate poverty should also be changed.
Question 3: Describe poverty trends in India since 1973?
Answer: As per the data, there is a substantial decline in poverty ratio in India from 55 percent in 1973 to 36 percent in 1993. There was further decline from 36 percent in 1993 to 26 percent in 2000. Although the number of poor people remained stable (about 320 million) in the earlier two decades (1973 to 1993), there was significant reduction in the number of the poor to about 260 million till 2000.It may also be noted that poverty ratio always remained higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. If the present trend continues, the people below poverty line may come down to less than 20 percent in the next few years.
Question 4: Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India?
Answer: The major reasons for poverty in India are:
- The low level of economic development under British colonial rule. The policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged the development of industries like textiles.
- The spread of the Green Revolution created many job opportunities for the people of the country, yet they were not sufficient in comparison to the number of job seekers.
- Unequal distribution of land and resources is another important factor for poverty in India.
- In order to fulfil social obligations and religious ceremonies the poor end up spending a lot which results in poverty.
- Inequality in the income of the people is also a major reason for poverty.
Question 5: Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty in India.
Answer: Social Groups Vulnerable to Poverty:
- Scheduled caste households
- Scheduled tribe households
Economic Groups Vulnerable to Poverty:
- Rural agricultural labour households
- Urban casual labour households
Question 6: Give an account of interstate disparities of poverty in India.
Answer: The proportion of poor is not the same in every state. Though there has been a decline in poverty in every state from the early seventies, the success rate of reducing poverty has varied from state to state. In 20 states and union territories, the poverty ratio is less than the national average of 26. In others, the poverty ratios are higher than the national average. Among these, Orissa and Bihar continue to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 47 and 43 per cent respectively. Both rural and urban poverty are quite high in these states. On the other hand, states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal have shown a significant decline in poverty. Public distribution of food grains, focus on human resource development, high agricultural development and land reform measures are some of the factors responsible for the decline in poverty in these states.
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 poor people in China has come down from 606 million in 1981 to 212 million in 2001. In the countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan) the decline has not been 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 (see graph 3.3). 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 nonexistent earlier. The proportion of people living under poverty in different countries is defined by the international poverty line (means population below $1 a day).
Question 8: Describe current government strategy of poverty alleviation?
Answer: Removal of poverty has one of the major objectives of Indian developmental strategy. The current government strategy of poverty alleviation is based on two planks:
(1) Promotion of Economic Growth
(2) Targeted Anti-poverty Programmes
Some of the anti-poverty programmes undertaken by government at present are discussed below:
Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY): Started in 1993, this programme aims to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas and small towns.
Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY): Launched in 2000, this aims to create and improve basic services like primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.
National Food for Work programme (NFWP): Launched in 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country, this programme is open to all rural poor who are in need of wage employment and desired to do manual unskilled work.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA): This act 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 and also one third to the proposed jobs would be reserved for women.
Question 9: Answer the 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) Human poverty is a term that means that poverty in India is not just limited to the economic status of the people but rather spreads in various other sectors which include lack of education, negligence of health care system, discrimination and disparity. Abolishing poverty from the country should no be the only aim of the authorities but to abolish human poverty must be the aim.
(ii) Women, children (especially the girl child) and elder people in a poor family are regarded as the poorest of the poor because they are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the family.
(iii) The main features of the National Rural Employment Act 2005 are as follows:
- To provide 100 days of wage employment to every household to ensure livelihood security
- Sustainable development to address the cause of draught, deforestation and soil erosion.
- One-third of the proposed jobs under this scheme have been reserved for women
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