Causes of rural poverty and poverty alleviation programmes – OPSC OAS Mains GS Paper I PYQ

📝Model Answer

Introduction

Poverty is the state of lacking the income or resources needed to meet basic needs like food, shelter, health, and education. Beyond the traditional income-based measure, poverty today is also assessed multidimensionally, covering health, education, and standard of living.

As per NITI Aayog’s MPI Progress Review (2023), India’s multidimensional poverty declined from 29.17% (2013-14) to 11.28% (2022-23), with rural poverty falling sharply from 32.59% to 19.28% (2015-16 to 2019-21). Yet poverty remains predominantly a rural phenomenon.

Causes of Rural Poverty

1. Dependence on agriculture and low productivity: A large section of the rural workforce depends on agriculture, which is characterised by low productivity, fragmented landholdings, and disguised unemployment.
2. Seasonal and disguised unemployment: Agricultural work is seasonal, leaving rural labour underemployed for a large part of the year, with limited non-farm avenues for income.
3. Unequal distribution of land and assets: Skewed land ownership, tenancy issues, and incomplete land reforms leave a large section of landless and marginal farmers vulnerable to poverty.
4. Lack of access to credit and indebtedness: Dependence on informal moneylenders at high interest rates, coupled with limited access to institutional credit, traps rural households in a debt cycle.
5. Poor infrastructure: Inadequate irrigation, rural roads, electricity, storage, and market linkages restrict productivity and income diversification.
6. Social factors: Caste-based discrimination, gender inequality, and social exclusion of marginalised groups (SCs, STs, women) limit access to opportunities and resources.
7. Natural calamities and climate vulnerability: Frequent droughts, floods, and crop failures push rural households, especially small and marginal farmers, back into poverty.
8. Population pressure and low human capital: High dependency ratios, low levels of education, and poor health outcomes reduce productivity and earning capacity.

Poverty Alleviation Programmes of the Government of India

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA): Guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households, providing a social safety net and asset creation.
2. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G): Provides financial assistance for construction of pucca houses to the rural poor and homeless.
3. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM): Promotes self-help groups (SHGs) and micro-enterprises to enable sustainable livelihoods for rural women and the poor.
4. PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi: Provides direct income support to small and marginal farmer families.
5. Public Distribution System (PDS) and National Food Security Act: Ensures subsidised food grains to reduce hunger and food insecurity among the poor.
6. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Jal Jeevan Mission: Improve rural connectivity, drinking water access, and basic infrastructure that underpin livelihood opportunities.

Way Forward

1. Convergence of schemes: Better convergence among MGNREGA, NRLM, PMAY-G, and skill programmes to maximise impact and avoid duplication.
2. Diversification of rural livelihoods: Promoting agro-processing, rural non-farm employment, and skill development to reduce dependence on agriculture alone.
3. Strengthening last-mile delivery: Use of technology (Aadhaar-linked DBT, geo-tagging of assets) to plug leakages and ensure timely, targeted delivery of benefits.
4. Focus on asset creation and productivity: Linking employment guarantee schemes to durable community assets like irrigation and water conservation structures.
5. Social empowerment alongside economic support: Strengthening SHGs, women’s collectives, and Panchayati Raj Institutions to build long-term resilience rather than dependence on transfers.

Conclusion