Understanding India's Poverty Line for Urban Areas (2011-12)

The question asks about the national poverty line specifically for urban areas of India during the financial year 2011-12. The poverty line is a threshold income or consumption expenditure level below which a person is considered poor. These estimates are crucial for understanding the extent of poverty in the country and for designing welfare policies.

For the period 2011-12, poverty lines in India were estimated based on the methodology recommended by the Suresh Tendulkar Committee. This methodology took into account not just calorie intake but also expenditure on education and health.

Poverty Line Estimate for Urban India 2011-12

Based on the Tendulkar Committee methodology, the national poverty line for urban areas in 2011-12 was estimated at a specific amount per person per month. This figure represented the minimum expenditure required to meet basic needs in urban settings.

The estimated national poverty line for urban areas in 2011-12 was set at Rs. 1,000 per capita per month.

For comparison, the poverty line for rural areas during the same period was estimated to be lower, reflecting the differences in cost of living between rural and urban regions.

Therefore, a person living in an urban area in India in 2011-12 was considered to be below the poverty line if their monthly expenditure was less than Rs. 1,000.

Key Aspects of 2011-12 Poverty Estimation

• The estimation was based on the Tendulkar Committee's recommendations.
• It used consumption expenditure as the criterion.
• Separate poverty lines were calculated for rural and urban areas due to differences in price levels and consumption patterns.
• These estimates were widely used for policy-making and analysis regarding poverty reduction programs.

Revision Table: India Poverty Line 2011-12

Additional Information on Poverty Estimation in India

Poverty estimation in India has evolved over time, with different committees recommending various methodologies. Some notable committees include:

• Alagh Committee (1979): Used calorie consumption as the primary criterion.
• Lakdawala Committee (1993): State-specific poverty lines were estimated.
• Tendulkar Committee (2009): Moved away from calorie norms alone, incorporating expenditure on health and education. This methodology was used for the 2011-12 estimates.
• Rangarajan Committee (2014): Suggested a higher poverty line than Tendulkar, but the Tendulkar estimates for 2011-12 remained widely cited.

Estimating poverty is complex due to variations in prices, consumption patterns, and cost of living across different regions and between urban and rural areas.