Poverty declined to 26% in 2011-12, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia

NEW DELHI: Poverty in the country has come down to 26 per cent as per the latest data of household expenditure prepared by the NSSO for 2011-12, the Planning Commission said today.

"Many of the academicians...said that poverty in 2011-12 using the Tendulkar line would probably be around 26 per cent or little more than that which is much lower than what it was in 2000, " Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters.

He said this while commenting on the latest data on household expenditure compiled by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) for 2011-12.

According to the Commission's estimates poverty ratio was at 29.8 per cent in 2009-10 as per the Tendulakar Committee methodology.

The NSSO data, he stressed, "clearly show that whatever the poverty line is used, there has been a sharp decline in poverty... The rate at which the poverty has gone down after 2004-05, is much higher than the rate at which it went down between 1993-94 and 2004. It would be true even if we raise the poverty line."

Earlier in March this year, the Commission had drawn flak from all quarters for pegging the poverty line at Rs 28.65 per capita daily consumption in cities and Rs 22.42 in rural areas which resulted in scaling down India's poverty ratio to 29.8 per cent in 2009-10 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05.