Kapil Sibal criticizes Planning Commission's definition of poverty

KOLKATA: Challenging the method used by the Planning Commission to calculate poverty, Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal today said a family of five could not live on Rs 5,000 a month.

"If the Planning Commission said those who live above Rs 5,000 a month are not at poverty line, obviously there is something wrong with the definition of poverty in this country. How can anybody live at Rs 5,000?" Sibal questioned at a program here.

Earlier in the week, the Commission had said that for a family of five, the all India poverty line in terms of consumption expenditure would amount to Rs 4,080 per month in rural areas and Rs 5,000 per month in urban areas.

Following the Tendulkar methodology, the Commission had calculated the national poverty line at Rs 816 per capita per month in villages and Rs 1,000 per capita per month in cities.

Congress MP and spokesperson Raj Babbar had earlier said a full meal would cost Rs 12 in Mumbai and party MP Rasheed Masood that it would cost Rs 5 in Delhi's Jama Masjid area.