BS Number Wise: A number for the poor in India

State welfare schemes often benefit the privileged as the government puts off setting up updated measures to define poverty

The last time India estimated its number of poor was in economist C Rangarajan’s report in 2014, adding 93.7 million more to the count.

Traditional poverty lines have had their drawbacks, but the government, for almost a decade, has refrained from setting a fresh measure. During this time, the definition of poverty itself has undergone significant revisions. Poverty is not limited to the absence of income but access to resources like health and education.

Encompassing these new parameters, a new global multidimensional poverty report by the UN highlights how far behind India is in achieving “sab ka vikas”— the government’s