Acknowledgement

I take immense pleasure in thanking Reverend Sister Sebastina, the

respected principal of our esteemed institution, for having permitted me
to carry out this project work.

I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to my Internal Guide, Mrs.

Benu Sharma, Economics Department, for her able guidance and useful
suggestions, which helped me in completing the project work, in time.

Finally, yet importantly, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my

beloved parents for their blessings, my brother and my friends for their
help and wishes for the successful completion of this project.
 Interviews

This section contains the interviews of five people who I thought were
poor.
 Interview – I
Bahadur

What is your name, gender and qualification?

My name is Bahadur. I am 6th pass.

What is your source of income?

I work as a watchman and also wash vehicles.

What is the total number of dependents in your family?

There are three dependents – my wife and two kids.

What is your total income?

My income is Rs 10000.

Do you find your monthly income sufficient to carry out your daily tasks?
If yes, do you save any part of it?
Yes I find it sufficient. Yes I save a part of it.

Where do you live?

I live in a rented room.

Are you temporarily or permanently employed?

It is temporary.

What is the total number of earning members in your family?

I’m the only one.

Are you in debt? Have you taken any loan? If yes, then specify from
where? What is the mode of payment and the interest rate?
No, I am not in any debt.

Are you getting favorable treatment from your employer?

Yes I am.

Are your children going to school? Are they helping in earning?

No, they are too small to go and they cannot help in earning.
Do you have any persistent medical problem? If yes, are you taking any
treatment? How much do you spend on it?
No, I don’t suffer from any kind of problem.

Do you have a ration card? Are you getting proper facilities? Are you
facing any problems?
No, I don’t have a ration card.
 Interview – II
Kasturi

What is your name, gender and qualification?

My name is Kasturi. I am illiterate.

What is your source of income?

I work as a maid servant, doing house cleaning and dish washing.

What is the total number of dependents in your family?

There are no dependents in my family.

What is your total income?

My income is Rs 5000.

Do you find your monthly income sufficient to carry out your daily tasks?
If yes, do you save any part of it?
Yes I find it sufficient. Yes I save a part of it.

Where do you live?

I live in a “Jhuggi”.

Are you temporarily or permanently employed?

It is temporary.

What is the total number of earning members in your family?

My sister Santosh and me.

Are you in debt? Have you taken any loan? If yes, then specify from
where? What is the mode of payment and the interest rate?
Yes I am in debt. I took a loan for my son’s wedding from a relative. I pay
cash.

Are you getting favorable treatment from your employer?

Yes and no.

Are your children going to school? Are they helping in earning?

No, they are married. No they do not help in earning.
Do you have any persistent medical problem? If yes, are you taking any
treatment? How much do you spend on it?
No, I don’t suffer from any kind of problem.

Do you have a ration card? Are you getting proper facilities? Are you
facing any problems?
No, I don’t have a ration card.
 Interview – III
Rambhuvan

What is your name, gender and qualification?

My name is Rambhuvan. I am 8th pass.

What is your source of income?

I am the caretaker of the society.

What is the total number of dependents in your family?

There are three dependents – my wife and two kids.

What is your total income?

My income is Rs 8000.

Do you find your monthly income sufficient to carry out your daily tasks?
If yes, do you save any part of it?
Yes I find it sufficient. Yes I save a part of it.

Where do you live?

I live in a room provided by the society.

Are you temporarily or permanently employed?

It is temporary.

What is the total number of earning members in your family?

I am the only one.

Are you in debt? Have you taken any loan? If yes, then specify from
where? What is the mode of payment and the interest rate?
No, I am not in debt.

Are you getting favorable treatment from your employer?

Yes they all treat me well.

Are your children going to school? Are they helping in earning?

No, they are too small to go to school and cannot help in earning.
Do you have any persistent medical problem? If yes, are you taking any
treatment? How much do you spend on it?
No, I don’t suffer from any kind of problem.

Do you have a ration card? Are you getting proper facilities? Are you
facing any problems?
No, I don’t have a ration card.
 Interview – IV
Moon

What is your name, gender and qualification?

My name is Moon. I am illiterate.

What is your source of income?

I work as a maid servant, doing house cleaning, dish washing and cooking
food.

What is the total number of dependents in your family?

My two children.

What is your total income?

My income is Rs 6000.

Do you find your monthly income sufficient to carry out your daily tasks?
If yes, do you save any part of it?
Yes I find it sufficient. Yes I save a part of it.

Where do you live?

I live in a rented room.

Are you temporarily or permanently employed?

It is temporary.

What is the total number of earning members in your family?

There are two earning members - my husband and me.

Are you in debt? Have you taken any loan? If yes, then specify from
where? What is the mode of payment and the interest rate?
No, I am not in debt.

Are you getting favorable treatment from your employer?

Yes and no.

Are your children going to school? Are they helping in earning?

Yes, they go to school. No, they do not help in earning.
Do you have any persistent medical problem? If yes, are you taking any
treatment? How much do you spend on it?
No, I don’t suffer from any kind of problem.

Do you have a ration card? Are you getting proper facilities? Are you
facing any problems?
No, I don’t have a ration card.
 Interview – V
Sutaram

What is your name, gender and qualification?

My name is Sutaram. I am illiterate.

What is your source of income?

I work as a sweeper for multiple societies and also the main market.

What is the total number of dependents in your family?

There are no dependents in the family.

What is your total income?

My income is Rs 10000.

Do you find your monthly income sufficient to carry out your daily tasks?
If yes, do you save any part of it?
Yes I find it sufficient. Yes I save a part of it.

Where do you live?

I own a house. I live with my two sons and my daughter.

Are you temporarily or permanently employed?

It is temporary.

What is the total number of earning members in your family?

There are four earning members – myself, my son (who is also a sweeper),
my second son who works in the municipal corporation and my daughter
who is a maid.

Are you in debt? Have you taken any loan? If yes, then specify from
where? What is the mode of payment and the interest rate?
No, I am not in debt.

Are you getting favorable treatment from your employer?

Yes I am get treated well.

Are your children going to school? Are they helping in earning?

No, they do not go to school. Yes, they do help in earning.

Do you have any persistent medical problem? If yes, are you taking any
treatment? How much do you spend on it?
No, I don’t suffer from any kind of problem.

Do you have a ration card? Are you getting proper facilities? Are you
facing any problems?
Yes, I have a ration card.
 Report of the Survey
The following report sheds light on the following points –

1. Causes of poverty
2. Type of unemployment
3. Steps taken by the government to eradicate poverty
4. Facilities provided by the government to the poor
5. Causes of availing no facilities

The report deals with these points on a nationwide level.

Causes
Even though India boasts of a high economic growth, it is shameful that
there is still large scale poverty in India. Poverty in India can be defined as
a situation when a certain section of people are unable to fulfill their basic
needs. India has the world's largest number of poor people living in a
single country. Out of its total population of more than 1 billion, 350 to
400 million people are living below the poverty line. Nearly 75% of the
poor people are in rural areas, most of them are daily wagers, landless
laborers and self-employed house holders. There are a number of reasons
for poverty in India. Following are listed some of them –

 High population growth rate.

 High Illiteracy (about 35% of adult population).
 Agrarian form of economy.
 High level of dependence on primitive methods of agriculture.
 Unequal distribution of income.
 Large families.
 Caste system.
 Underemployment.
 Regional inequalities.
  Protectionist policies pursued till 1991 that prevented high foreign
investment.
 Urban rural divide.
 Social iniquity and discrimination.

Types of Unemployment
India as a nation is faced with massive problem of unemployment.
Unemployment occurs when a person is available and willing to work but
currently without work. Economists distinguish between two broad types
of unemployment, including voluntary unemployment and involuntary
unemployment. Under involuntary unemployment come the following
categories- cyclical unemployment, frictional unemployment, structural
unemployment and classical unemployment. Some additional types of
unemployment that are occasionally mentioned are seasonal
unemployment and hardcore unemployment. Real-world unemployment
may combine different types. The magnitude of each of these is difficult to
measure, partly because they overlap. Now we discuss these in detail.

1. Voluntary unemployment

In this type of unemployment a person is out of job of his own desire

doesn't work on the prevalent or prescribed wages. Either he wants
higher wages or doesn't want to work at all. It is in fact social problem
leading to social disorganization.

2. Involuntary unemployment

In this type of situation the person who is unemployed has no say in the
matter. It means that a person is separated from remunerative work
and devoid of wages although he is capable of earning his wages and is
also anxious to earn them. The following come under this category-
a. Cyclical unemployment

This is the result of the trade cycle. In such a system, there is greater
unemployment and when there is depression a large number of people
are rendered unemployed. Since such an economic crisis is the result of
trade cycle, the unemployment is a part of it. When the economy
passes though recession, demand for labor contracts and the surplus is
released as the unemployed labor force.

b. Structural Unemployment

This occurs when a labor market is unable to provide jobs for everyone
who wants one because there is a mismatch between the skills of the
unemployed workers and the skills needed for the available jobs. It may
also be encouraged to rise by persistent cyclical unemployment: if an
economy suffers from long-lasting low aggregate demand, it means that
many of the unemployed become disheartened, while their skills
become "rusty" and obsolete.

c. Frictional Unemployment

Frictional unemployment occurs when a person is out of one job is

searching for another. It generally requires some time before a person
can get the next job. During this time he is frictionally unemployed.
Frictional unemployment is always present in an economy.

d. Classical Unemployment

Classical or real-wage unemployment occurs when real wages for a job

are set above the market-clearing level, causing the number of job-
seekers to exceed the number of vacancies.

e. Seasonal unemployment

There are certain kinds of unemployment that tend to concentrate in a

particular time of the year and are known as seasonal unemployment.
Seasonal unemployment is most common in industries like tourism,
hotel, catering, fruit picking and farmers.
Government action taken to eradicate poverty

Plans to reduce poverty levels and bridge the gaps in distribution of wealth
have been a part of the Government’s policy since India got its
independence. Some of the initial programs concentrated on making the
poor self-sufficient with respect to basic necessities like food. Immediately
after independence, making food grains available to all residents at
controlled prices was an important part of poverty reduction programs.

Employment opportunities, agricultural development, primary education

and good infrastructure are some of the objectives of programs designed
by the Government. National Rural Employment Programs, Rural
Landless Employment Guarantee Program, and Jawahar Rojgar Yojna are
some of the programs introduced by the Indian Government.

Poverty alleviation programs address the root cause for poverty like
illiteracy, high population growth rate, high dependence of farmers on
monsoons and outdated techniques to cultivate their lands. Poverty
reduction has also been an important part of India’s five-year plans. The
current plan aims at reducing the headcount ratio of consumption poverty
by 10 percentage points. It is also expected to reduce educated
unemployment, increase work opportunities and increase the real wages
for unskilled workers – thus reducing poverty amongst labor classes.

Facilities provided by the Government

Some of the facilities provided to the poor population of India by the
government are as follows-

1. Housing

The broad elements of the approach of the Government of India to

tackle the problem of housing the poor are: special program/targeted
subsidy to the poor and vulnerable groups, loan assistance to
governmental agencies/beneficiaries at below-market interest rate for
housing and at normal rate for infrastructure through the Housing and
Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) is
an example of housing for targeted groups in rural areas through
employment creation. The National Habitat and Housing Policy suggests
a number of areas of intervention for governmental agencies to
promote affordable housing for the poor, including availability of sites,
housing loans at below-market rates, low-cost building materials and
civic services.

2. Education

The government has set aside an education budget in accordance with

the Five year Plans; and each year it allocates different percentage of it
to elementary, secondary, adult, higher and technical education. One of
the major announcements made by towards this cause was the
National Common Minimum Program. This includes –

a. To progressively increase expenditure on education to around 6

percent of GDP.
b. To support this increase in expenditure, and to increase the
quality of education, there would be an imposition of an
education cess over all central government taxes.
c. To ensure that no one is denied of education due to economic
backwardness and poverty.
d. To make right to education a fundamental right for all children in
the age group 6–14 years.
e. To universalize education through its flagship programs such as
Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid Day Meal.
3. Healthcare