The Government’s approach to poverty reduction is of three dimensions:
1. The first one is the growth-oriented approach. It is based on the expectation that the effects of economic growth – rapid increase in gross domestic product and per capita income would spread to all sections of society and will trickle down to poorer sections. This was the major focus of planning in the 1950’s and early 1960s. It was felt that rapid industrial development and transformation of agriculture through green revolution in select (regions would benefit the underdeveloped regions).
2. The second approach has been initiated from the third five-year plan (1961 -1966) that suggest that incomes and employment for the poor could be raised through the creation of incremental assets and by means of work generation. This could be achieved through specific poverty alleviation programme. The example based on this approach are :
a. Food for work programme:
Minimum food was ensured to workers and their families instead of money under this programme.
b. Rural Employment Generation Programme:
It aims at creating self employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns.
c. Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana:
The educated unemployed from low income families in rural and urban areas can get financial help to setup any kind of enterprise that generate employment under this programme.
d. Swama Jayanthi Shasri Rozgar Yojana:
It mainly aims at creating employment opportunity both of selfemployment and wage employment in urban areas.
e. National Food for work programme and Sampooma Grameen Rojgar Yojana:
These programmes aim at generating wage employment for the poor unskilled people living in rural areas.
f. In August 2005, the parliament has passed a new Act to provide guaranteed wage employment to every household whose adult volunteer to do unskilled manual work for a minimum of 100 days in a year.
3. The third approach to tackle poverty is to provide minimum basic amenities to the people. Programmes under this approach are expected to supplement the consumption of the poor, create employment opportunities and bring about improvement in health and education.
Three major programmes that aim at improving the food and nutritional status of the poor are public distribution system, integrated child development scheme and mid-day meal scheme.
