Govt sets Rs 10,000 min balance in bank accounts as rural poverty measure

The more number of families with a minimum Rs 10,000 in their accounts, the better a panchayat's chance of being on the positive list of the poverty index

The government will now look at the bank accounts of families in a rural set up to determine the level of poverty in a gram Panchayat. According to a report in The Times of India, the minimum amount in such accounts has been set as Rs 10,000. This threshold is one of several metrics that will be used to measure the economic condition in a village.

The more the number of families with such a minimum balance, the better a panchayat's chance of being on the positive list of the poverty index.

Under Mission Antyodaya, there are 21 parameters to measure the economic status of any gram panchayat. The aim of the mission is to create 50,000 poverty-free panchayats.

A panchayat's economic well-being will be directly proportional to the number of women workers or self-employed women, or the percentage of households with LPG connections, the Times of India report says. Other key parameters include at least 12-hour daily power supply, internet connectivity or minimal open defecation.

The ministry has compartmentalised the parameters into three broad levels of assessment, based on "infrastructure", "social development and protection" and "economic development and diversification of livelihoods".

The number of families employed in dairy and animal farming, and the number of skilled labours in non-dairy sectors will also be taken into account while placing a panchayat in the poverty index.

The ‘Antyodaya’ scheme would be implemented in 50,000 gram panchayats identified by the ministry.