My heart bleeds for the Indian poor. Almost 90% Indians live below
poverty line. The government of India is callous and shameless when
it comes to rescuing its poors. To hide facts, it has arbitarily
fixed the povertyline at Rs 10 per day, whereas the standard fixed
by world bank and asian bank was US $ 1 which has now been increased
to 1.35 dollars due to increasing food prices.
I wonder how ungrteful and thankless we Pakistanis are who are far
more better off than the Indians.
Whereas the minimum wage in Paksitan is Rs 6000, Government of
India has fixed it at Rs 1250. No wonder, many emploees of Indian
government live below poverty line, not to speak of millions who
work in un-organized sectors or are unemployed. India's
population living below povertyline exceeds 90% because now the
Asian Bank has fixed povertyline at Us $ 1.35 per day per person.
An Indian expert has calculated Indian poverty in the
following manner:
No. Earnings of diffrent types of employees in India Converted into
Rs./month
1. Average cost of employee* in Air-India Rs. 53,000
2. Average cost of employee* in MARUTI UDYOG Rs. 24,000
3. Average cost of employee* in the MUMBAI MUNICIPAL CORP. Rs.
16,000
4. Minimum starting salary in the FIRE Dept. in Mumbai Rs. 7,000
5. Average earning of an Indian - US$ 440 per year or about (This is
based on a GDP of US$ 440 billion
and 1 billion people) Rs. 1,727
6. Minimum earning required, as per WORLD BANK, to live at above
poverty line, for underdeveloped
countries like India, China etc, about US$ 1.0 per day or US$ 30 per
month Rs. 1,410
7. MINIMUM WAGES, as per Government of India, for all the States,
about Rs. 40 to 60 per day per
person, average about Rs. 50 per day. For 25 days per month Rs.
1,250
8. POVERTY LINE definition, as per Government of India, see below
for
explanation, at Rs. 10 per day,
per person, approx. Rs. 300
Other related & relevant data In millions, people
9. Number of people, in India, who are below poverty line About 300
million (30 Cr.)
10. Number of people, in India, who work in the organized Public
Sector, i.e. with the Central and State
Government About 19 million (1.9 Cr.)
11. Number of people, in India, who work in the organized Private
Secto About 8 million (0.8 Cr.)
12. Number of people, in India, who work in the unorganized Sector
About 320 million (32 Cr.)
13. Number of people, in India, who are unemployed approximately
About
300 million (30 Cr.)
14. Number of JOBS which need to be created every year, to fulfill
the
aspirations of the people of India
About 10 million/yr. (1 Cr.)
15. Number of people BORN every year in India (China is only 10
million per yea About 27 million/yr. (2.7 Cr.)
16. Number of people, in India, who are below 35 years of age About
700 million (70 Cr.)
1. About us The World Bank's definition of the poverty line**, for
under developed countries, like India, is US$ 1/day/person
or US $365 per year. As per this definition, more than 75% of all
Indians are, probably, below the poverty line!
As per the Government of India, poverty line for the urban areas is
Rs. 296 per month and for rural areas Rs. 276
per month, i.e. people in India who earn less than Rs. 10 per day.
As per GOI, this amount will buy food
equivalent to 2200 calories per day, medically enough, to prevent
death. At this level of earning, even in a poor
country like India, survival on Rs. 10 per day is a nightmare! This
actually translates to Rs. 3650 per year or US $ 75 per year.
On what basis have our planners decided this definition of "Poverty
Line"? Does it mean that the person will get enough food to stay
alive? How and where is he or she supposed to cook it? What about
the minimum needs in education, housing, health services,
clothing,and other basic necessities? Are we supposed to live on
pavements and sleep under trees from birth till death? YOU BE THE
JUDGE!
The minimum wages in India, vary from state to state and city to
city, and average Rs. 1000 - 1250/month or
Rs. 12,000 - 15,000/yr. Or US $ 250 - US $ 300/yr. India's per
capita is US $ 440 per year. (China's is US $ 990).
If India could provide Roads, Electricity, TV's and Telephones in
every village, it would improve, education, health,
family planning, agriculture, animal husbandry, GDP and reduce
migration from vllages to cities.
*Cost of employee = salary & wages + all allowances including
housing + perks + retirement benefits.
**1 million = 1,000,000 or 10 lacs. 1 lac = 1,00,000. 1 crore = 10
million = 1,00,00,000.
To verify you can look at this link:
http://www.wakeupca ll.org/administr ation_in_ india/poverty_ line.php M .Javed Iqbal