By Ruma Dubey

The Planning Commission released, for a change, some numbers to cheer. There are lesser number of Indian’s now living in poverty today than in 2005. The Planning Commission has stated that in 2012, 21.9% of the population or 269.3 million people were living below the poverty line and this is much lower than 407.1 million people or 37.2% under poverty line in 2005. In 1994, 45.3% lived below the poverty line. Yes, we have indeed come a long way since 1994 and the jump up from 2005 to 2012 has been more remarkable. This means consumption has gone up despite inflation.

This is indeed very good news. Till date, when western country papers write a story about Indian economy or on Indian quality of life, invariably, the article will  have pictures of beggars or urchins. This statistics now shows that these westerners might soon have to hunt for beggars if the same pace of growth continues.

But therein lies the hitch. Economic growth. There is simply no denying the fact that it is economic growth alone which has helped more people get off the poverty line. The Indian economy, during the last eight years has shown a growth of over 9% in at least four years.  At the same time, rural prosperity has increased. Agricultural wages have never been this high and this means increased purchasing power for rural India. Real rural wages have also risen much faster at 6.8% during the 11^th Plan Period (2007/12) than an average of 1.1% in 10^th Plan. Also higher tax revenue meant the Govt give higher agriculture support prices and that once again meant higher consumption. That probably explains why even states with lower industrial activity like Tripura, Odisha and Sikkim have shown a fall in poverty line. Goa had the lowest percentage of people below poverty line, followed by Kerala and Himachal Pradesh. All these areas have lower industrialization and yet they have lesser poor people which means in such states, there is more equitable distribution of income and higher human development.

There is a major debate raging between two economic stalwarts – Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati and at the center of their debate is growth, whether it can become the overriding policy goal. Without a doubt, the answer is a vehement “yes”. Growth is imperative or else other welfare schemes, giving higher farm wages and even cheaper education and healthcare would be virtually impossible. Unless there is money coming in, how can it is distributed? The state of Bihar is a perfect example driving home this point – between 2004-05 to 2011-12 , it recorded the highest average growth in the country at 11.42%. And during the same period, it reduced its poverty by 21.6%. In Bihar, robust agricultural growth and more money coming in from migrant workers helped.  For Odisha too, mining and migrant money helped push up more people above the poverty line.

But the misnomer to the theory here is the state of Chhattisgarh. It could reduce poverty by a mere 9.47%  despite showing a 8.69% growth in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), 7.27% growth in agriculture and allied sectors. 40% of the people in this state continue to live below the poverty line and this is more than double the national average. So if growth could reduce poverty, how come it did not work in Chhattisgarh?

Well, the answer lies in inclusive growth or social development growth. There is no debate that growth is needed to reduce poverty but the debate should be about how this growth is achieved. Unless there is an improvement in education, healthcare, food distribution systems and more employment opportunities, growth will not help reduce poverty beyond a certain level.

Now all this economic mumbo-jumbo is too much for our politicians to understand, as it would require application of the mind and intellect.  And they have got into what they do the best – politicking. Getting a full meal for Rs.12 or Rs.5 or Re.1 is simply not possible. In fact the measure of poverty line – Rs.27 in rural area and Rs.33 in urban areas itself needs to be recalibrated. With one kilo of rice in ration shops itself costing between Rs.18-20, one wonders about the veracity of these figures. Well, the Rangarajan Committee is reviewing the method used to calculate poverty line and the report is expected by mid-2014.

Yes, the politicians are playing politics about poverty but the sad truth is that we have abject poverty when it comes to quality of politics and politicians. Can Sen or Bhagwati correct that?