Discussion on the Anti Poverty Programmes

The issue of poverty is a major problem that is troubling today’s world. Most third world countries are facing this problem. It also hampers the overall growth of a  nation, from economical independence to public health and wellness. 

Currently, governments of different countries, non-profit organizations and even UNICEF WHO are trying to resolve the poverty issue. Similarly, The government of India is constantly in the surge to alleviate this issue by promoting poverty alleviation programs. Here, in this article, we will discuss the poverty reduction programs in India.

What is Poverty?

Poverty is an economic condition that results from a lack of resources for an individual or a group of people. This lack of resources is characterized by malnourishment, high mortality rate, low literacy rate, child marriages, child labour, inaccessible health care services and technology. 

To put it simply, the people with a lack of resources in any country remain far behind the mainstream culture and the whole project of modernity. 

Poverty in India

Poverty is a very palpable issue in India. As a third world, developing country, India struggles with this issue. According to recent studies, almost 270 crores of people live in impoverished conditions in India. And this fact reflects in the number of street dwellers, child labours, and malnourished people that one can find in any city in India. This issue exerts a huge impact on the economical and social progress of the country. And that is why it becomes the responsibility of any government in power to take necessary measures to reduce this issue. 

Causes of poverty in India

Though there are multiple and ever-changing reasons behind poverty issues in India, you can find some major and stagnant causes that give rise to this issue. 

• Casteism –  India is a land where people are divided by caste, which decides an individual’s occupation, access to various resources and social respectability by their birth. Casteism causes the social, economic, and medical impoverished condition of many people in India 
• Colonialism – India has been a British colony for more than 200 years, which has caused a lot of economical draining of the country. So, when India got independence in 1974, it had more poor citizens than in the pre-colonial era. And this hangover can still be felt even today through the economically degraded conditions of India 
• High population – This is another major reason for  India’s poverty condition. India is currently one of the most populated countries. And the number of its population is increasing every day. This also creates a shortage of resources, and people struggle for a healthy lifestyle and economic environment to grow 
• Capitalism – Not only in India, but Capitalism is responsible for world poverty. The capitalist market economy has promoted wealth accumulation to a group of people, namely the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat of the working class remain deprived of even basic needs 
• Covid 19 – It is the most recent reason that has remarkably shook the world economy. And India, as a third world country, has faced an economical crisis after the pandemic struck the country in the recent past 

Governmental anti-poverty programmes in India

 Poverty is a serious threat to any country’s wholesome growth. The government of India also has implemented anti-poverty programmes to eradicate this issue.

• Jawaharlal Gram Samridhi Yojana- This scheme is a refashioned version of the Jawaharlal Rozgar Yojana. This scheme aimed to develop rural areas by improving the infrastructure of communication, health care and education. Also, wage employment for people belonging to the BPL category.
• The national old-age pension scheme- NOAPS was implemented in 1995 on Indian independence day. The target of this program was to provide monthly pensions to senior citizens above the age of 60 who cannot sustain themselves on their own.
• Sampoorna Gram Samridhi Yojana- This scheme was launched in 2001, and it combined the objectives of the Employment Assurance Scheme and Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. It was implemented mainly through the Panchayat system.
• National family benefit scheme- This program, launched in 1995, tries to alleviate poverty issues by providing monetary help to BPL families that lost their sole earner, irrespective of the cause of death.
• Janani Suraksha Yojana- Its previous name was the National maternity benefit scheme which changed into the current one in 2005. It aims to provide services like medicare and Medicaid to childbearing women provided she is above 19.
• Annapurna- This scheme came into effect in 1999 and targets to provide free food grains every month to people of old age who do not have close or distant relatives to look after them.
• Integrated rural development program- Launched in 1978, this scheme also aims at rural development by providing monetary help like subsidies and term credit to agricultural labourers, marginal farmers of SC, ST groups and Women.
•  Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana- Started in 1999, this scheme targets to provide housing for every homeless Indian citizen. It not only constructed housing units for people but also provided loans with low interest for house construction.

Conclusion

Changing reasons behind poverty make it more difficult to track and figure out proper solutions to alleviate this issue. After independence, the government of India implemented many schemes to resolve this issue which show positive outcomes, but they are far away from their desired goals. Also, situations like the covid pandemic and warlike conditions such as the Indo-Pak and Indo-China tensions make it hard to concentrate on this issue which is growing bigger day by day.