Question

The Indian method of defining poverty on the basis of consumption of minimum calories is deficient. Explain.

Answer 1

• In India, poverty line is defined in reference to the minimum required calories that a person consumes.
  The major limitation of this method is that it only focuses on the non-availability of food or say starvation. Poverty is not only a situation of starvation. A person is poor even when several other basic necessities such as proper clothing, housing, pure drinking water, education etc. are hot available to him.
• Hence, the Indian method of defining poverty on the basis of consumption of minimum calories is deficient.