Question : BPL PEOPLE



(a) the number of people living below poverty line in the country, State-wise/UT- wise;

(b) whether the Union Government has fixed any target to bring them above poverty line; and

(c) if so, the achievement made in this regard, so far?

Answer given by the minister


MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI PRADEEP JAIN `ADITYA`)

(a) On the basis of the latest poverty estimates released by the Planning Commission for the year 2004-05, the number of people living Below the Poverty Line in the country (State-wise/UT-wise) is at Annexure-I.

(b) Reduction in poverty is one of the monitorable targets adopted in the 11th Five Year Plan. The 11th Plan targets to reduce the Head Count Ratio of Consumption Poverty by 10 percentage points during the five year period of the Plan.

(c) The estimation of poverty in the country is done after a period of five years approximately and the latest poverty estimates available are for the year 2004-05. As per comparable estimates, about 36% people were living Below the Poverty Line in 1993-94 in the country which has come down to 27.5% during 2004-05.

Annexure-I

Annexure-I referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.180 to be answered on 3.7.2009

Number of persons living Below Poverty Line by States/UTs - 2004-05 (Based on URP-Consumption)


Sl. No States/ UTs No. of Persons (Lakhs)

1 Andhra Pradesh 126.10

2 Arunachal Pradesh 2.03

3 Assam 55.77

4 Bihar 369.15

5 Chhattisgarh 90.96

6 Delhi 22.93

7 Goa 2.01

8 Gujarat 90.69

9 Haryana 32.10

10 Himachal Pradesh 6.36

11 Jammu & Kashmir 5.85

12 Jharkhand 116.39

13 Karnataka 138.89

14 Kerala 49.60

15 Madhya Pradesh 249.68

16 Maharashtra 317.38

17 Manipur 3.95

18 Meghalaya 4.52

19 Mizoram 1.18

20 Nagaland 3.99

21 Orissa 178.49

22 Punjab 21.63

23 Rajasthan 134.89

24 Sikkim 1.14

25 Tamil Nadu 145.62

26 Tripura 6.38

27 Uttar Pradesh 590.03

28 Uttarakhand 35.96

29 West Bengal 208.36

30 A & N Islands 0.92

31 Chandigarh 0.74

32 Dadra & N. Haveli 0.84

33 Daman & Diu 0.21

34 Lakshadweep 0.11

35 Puducherry 2.37

All-India 3017.20

URP consumption = Uniform Recall Period consumption in which the consumer expenditure data for all the items are collected from 30-day recall period.

Notes:

1. Poverty Ratio of Assam is used for Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura.

2. Poverty Line of Maharashtra and expenditure distribution of Goa is used to estimate poverty ratio of Goa.

3. Poverty Ratio of Tamil Nadu is used for Puducherry and A & N Island.

4. Urban Poverty Ratio of Punjab used for both rural and urban poverty of Chandigarh.

5. Poverty Line of Maharashtra and expenditure distribution of Dadra & Nagar Haveli is used to estimate poverty ratio of Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

6. Poverty Ratio of Goa is used for Daman & Diu.

7 Poverty Ratio of Kerala is used for Lakshadweep.