State of Poverty in India and How NGOs are Helping Alleviate Poverty From Country
After China, India is the most populous country in the world and also the largest democracy. India boasts of a fast-growing economy (as per IMF (International Monetary Fund) India recorded a growth rate of 11.5%, and is the world's only country that has recorded double-digit growth in 2021) and a large skilled workforce but its massive population of more than 1.2 billion people makes it also one of the poorest countries in the world (based on per capita income and gross domestic product.) In this article we will get to know the state of poverty in India, what measures are being taken by the government and others to alleviate extreme poverty, and the role of NGOs for poverty in India in helping India move up the ladder in the world's poorest countries rank.
Poverty Condition in India The poverty incidence in India is a grave issue for academic researchers as well as policy analysts owing to its intensity and scope. While the economic growth of India is a powerful tool for reducing poverty, its impact depends largely on the level of inequality and pattern of growth. Besides economic growth, we need to achieve inclusive growth to remove poverty and disparities in society. ● With the international poverty line defined as an income of 1 USD per day, 30% of the Indian population is below that and 68.8% earn a mere 2 USD per day. These are considered extremely poor people.
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In numbers, more than 800 million people in India lie below the poverty line. Most of them are from the countryside and they manage their livelihood by doing odd jobs. The primary reasons for poverty in India are illiteracy, unemployment, famine, and malnutrition. Lack of proper employment and good income in rural areas is driving people to metropolitans such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, or Bangalore. This has increased urban poverty where people are living in mega-slums, without adequate water supply, taking shelter in constructions made up of corrugated ironworks, improper waste disposal systems, and no electricity. The lifestyle of poor hygiene in slums is the cause of many diseases like typhus, dysentery, and cholera which has increased mortality rate, especially in children. The other impacts of poverty in India are: ○ High infant mortality rate - 1.4 million kids in India die before they reach five years of age. India is amongst the top five countries in the child mortality rate. The most frequent causes of children dying in India are poor chronic nutrition, malaria, diarrheal diseases, and pneumonia. ○ Child marriage - In 2006 minor marriages were banned yet 44.5% of girls are married off before the legal age (i.e. 18 years.) ○ HIV/AIDS - There are 2.7 million HIV-positive cases in India out of which 220,000 are children. Lack of sex education and condoms is the main culprit for this virus to be spreading faster and more people dying in slums because of AIDS. ○ Child Labor - Although the Indian law prohibits children who are below 14 years of age from working, 12.5 million children between the age of 5 and 14 years are engaged in child labor. To support livelihood, children support families by working in factories, fields, quarries, prostitution, and private households. ○ Malnutrition - In India, more than 200 million people can not afford sufficient food in a day i.e. not even a bowl of rice in a day (out of this number 61 million are children.) Infants having less than 2.5 kg birth weight amount to 7.8 million.
Programs to Alleviate Poverty The strategy for eradicating poverty is manifold. The first step is an effort being made where the poor are given opportunities to participate in the growth process with a focus on specific sectors. Some of the major poverty reduction and employment generation government programs are: ● National Food for Work Program - Launched on November 4, 2004, this program targets 150 most backward districts in India intending to intensify the generation of supplemental wage employment. Every rural poor person can access this program who needs wage employment in unskilled manual work. ● National Rural Employment Bill - This bill was passed in parliament in 2004 where an outlay of 13,466.40 crore INR was provided for the fiscal year 2004-2005 for the Department of Rural Development (this included supplemental grants.)
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PMRY - Prime Minister Rozgar Yojna started in 1993 with the objective of providing opportunities for self-employment to unemployed youth by helping them set economically viable activities. DDP (Desert Development Program), DPAP(Drought Prone Area Program), and IWDP (Integrated Wasteland Development Program) - All these programs aim towards the development of waste or degraded lands with an allocation of 300 crore INR, 368 crore INR, and 215 crore INR in 2004-2005 to DPAP, IWDP, and DDP respectively. AAY - Antyodaya Anna Yojna provides food grains at highly subsidized rates ( 3 INR per kg for rice and 2 INR per kg for wheat) to poor families under the TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System.)
What Role NGOs Play in this Fight Against Poverty in India Industrialization and improved infrastructure certainly help a nation advance economically, but to achieve socio-economic development and balance one needs active participation from civil societies. Non Governmental Organizations are those agencies that fill the gaps in schemes executed by the government for socio-economic upliftment. ● NGOs go right in the middle of the communities and do research which gives them powerful insights to ensure that the poorest in India get access to education, employment, and experience sustainable growth. ● NGOs run huge awareness programs which contribute to sensitization and development to end those factors that are at the core of poverty. They run many on-ground initiatives to empower poor communities. ● If children of a country are happy and prosperous then only they can grow into mature and responsible adults and contribute to building a powerful nation. The NGOs have many initiatives to keep poor children safe and healthy by making provisions for their nutrition and education. They work at grassroots levels in slums, tribal areas, remote villages, etc. where they can reach the most marginalized communities.
NGO For Poverty in India NGOs have a vital role to play in shaping a better society for generations to come. The Apnalaya NGO is one of the NGOs in Mumbai which is proving to be a force to direct political discourse towards actualizing sustainable growth and attaining equitability. Their work is impacting communities to help themselves with activities like provisioning civic education, organizing people in civic action groups, and building volunteer cadres for the community.