No consensus on higher poverty line: Minister

NEW DELHI: A task force on elimination of poverty has recommended setting up of an expert committee to arrive at an informed decision on the level at which the poverty line should be set, Parliament was informed today.

The task force in its report has stated that 'a consensus in favour of either the Tendulkar committee report or a higher poverty line' did not emerge.

“The Task Force ( on Elimination of Poverty in India) in its report has inter-alia, stated that 'a consensus in favour of either the Tendulkar or a higher poverty line did not emerge. Therefore, the Task Force has concluded that the matter be considered in greater depth by the country's top experts on poverty before a final decision is made.


"Accordingly, it is recommended that an expert committee be set up to arrive at an informed decision on the level at which the poverty line should be set. The report of the Task Force is under consideration," Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Pursuant to the decision taken in the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 8, 2015, a Task Force on Elimination of Poverty in India was constituted by NITI Aayog on March 16, 2015 under the chairmanship of Arvind Panagariya, vice chairman, NITI Aayog.

The report of the Task Force was submitted to the Prime Minister on July 11, 2016.

The official poverty estimates are based on the recommendations made by the experts in the field from time to time, the Minister said.

The present poverty estimates are based on the methodology recommended by the Expert Group under the chairmanship of Suresh D Tendulkar in 2009.