The Global Consumption and Income Project suggests that official statistics might be understating the extent of poverty
How much of India is poor? And by how much has that number reduced over the years? This is an old debate and the answers to these questions vary greatly depending on the choice of the survey method and the poverty line.
According to official statistics , India’s poverty rate declined from 45% in 1993-94 to 22% in 2011-12. However, the poverty lines used to determine the above poverty figures have been criticized as being too low to allow a decent standard of living. The Planning Commission deemed anybody to be non-poor if he or she could spend Rs.27 per day in rural areas or Rs.33 per day in urban areas in 2011-12.
A new database, Global Consumption and Income Project (GCIP), suggests that the official figures might be understating the extent of poverty. Even if one adopts a slightly more charitable poverty line of around Rs.38 per day for 2011-12 (i.e. $2.5 per day in purchasing power parity terms), the poverty rate would be 47%, more than double the official statistics.
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