Poverty headcount in a month, says Pawar

Debate on headcount of India's families living below poverty line is expected to be settled once the Planning Commission gives its report in a month, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.
 
"We are awaiting final report from the Planning Commission, which will be accepted by the Government...The report is expected in a month," he said in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
 
Several committees (like Arjun Sengupta, Tendulkar and Wadhwa) had given different estimates about the number of BPL families.
 
On top of it, state governments have their own figures for BPL families - in wide variation of the data of the Centre, Pawar said.
 
Against the Planning Commission's existing estimate of 6.54 crore BPL households, the combined figures of states work out to over 11 crore.
 
These differences are delaying the approval of the Centre's ambitious Right to Food Security Bill by the Empowered Group of Ministers.
 
Under the proposed bill, BPL families would have a legal right to get rice or wheat at Rs 3 per kg. The monthly quantity could be 35 kg.