Previous Year Question

According to the poverty estimates released by the Planning Commission for 2011–12, Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of people living below the poverty line, approximately 5.98 crore (598.19 lakh). These estimates were based on the Tendulkar Methodology and the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey conducted during the 68th round of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

Poverty situation in the given states in 2011–12:

An important distinction in these figures is between the Absolute Number of Poor and the Poverty Ratio. The Poverty Ratio represents the percentage of people living below the poverty line in a state's total population, whereas the number of poor persons represents the actual population.

In 2011–12, Bihar had a poverty ratio of 33.74% and Madhya Pradesh had 31.65%, both higher than Uttar Pradesh's 29.43%. Nevertheless, Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of people living below the poverty line because of its larger total population.

According to the Tendulkar Methodology, India's overall poverty ratio in 2011–12 was 21.9%. It was 25.7% in rural areas and 13.7% in urban areas. Approximately 269.8 million people in the country lived below the poverty line.

The Planning Commission published these estimates in July 2013. The poverty line was determined by considering Household Consumption Expenditure and differences in price levels across rural and urban areas of different states.