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LARGE DESIRE IS ENDLESS POVERTY

As mahatma Gandhi said "POVERTY IS THE WORST FORM OF VIOLENCE",every year 3.1 million indian children die before age of 5 mostly from diseases of poverty like diarrhea. INTRODUCTION: India being the second most populous country after China with almost 1.2 billion People has enjoyed growth rates of upto 10% over many years and is one of the largest economies in the world,with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 1,644 billion US dollars.But only small percentage of Indian population has benefited from the impressive economic boom so far,as majority of people in India are still having in abject poverty. And yes,we take the difference between IMF's April 2020 forecasts for GDP growth and their forecast from October 2019 as "The covid effect", a slight simplified version because other things have also changed in world that may have caused the IMF to alter it's forecasts.However,the largest change is clearly caused by covid-19 and the policy response around the world. Causes: Even under-estimates of poverty as made by NSS 1999-2000 show that 260 million persons or 26 per cent of population live below the poverty line, that is, do not have sufficient consumption expenditure to meet minimum food intake in terms of calories. 70 per cent of the poor live in the rural areas. What are the causes of this mass poverty? We explain below some important causes of poverty in India. ✓increase rate of population ✓less utilisation of resources ✓a short rate of economic development ✓increasing price rise ✓unemployment ✓shortage of capital and able entrepreneurship ✓social factors and political factors ✓unequal distribution of income Many economists have pointed out that in the year of good agricultural output, poverty ratio declines. Good performance in agriculture leads to more employment opportunities and fall in prices of food grains. More employment opportunities and lower food price cause poverty ratio to decline. The experience of Punjab and Haryana shows that with agricultural growth through use of new high yielding technology (popularly called green revolution), poverty ratio can be significantly reduced. However, in various states of the country such as Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, East Uttar Pradesh, where poverty ratio is still very high new high-yielding technology has not been adopted on a significant scale and as a result agricultural performance has not been good. As a result, poverty prevails to a larger extent in them. As a result, irrigation facilities whose availability ensures adoption of new high-yielding technology and leads to higher productivity, income and employment, are available in not more than 33 per cent of cultivable land. As a result, many parts of the country remain semi-arid and rain-fed areas where agricultural productivity, income and employment cannot be sufficient to ensure significant reduction in poverty. EFFECTS OF POVERTY: The resounding effect of poverty echoes through various layers of an India citizen’s life. If we try to have a systematic look at them, we should proceed under the three following heads:- 1. Effect on Health – one of the most devastating effects that poverty has is on the overall health of the nation. The most prominent health issue stemming from poverty is malnutrition. The problem of malnutrition is widespread in all age-groups of the country but children are most adversely affected by this. Limited income in larger families leads to lack of access to sufficient nutritious food for their children. These children over time suffer from severe health problems like low body weight, mental, physical disabilities and a general poor state of immunity making them susceptible to diseases. Children from poor backgrounds are twice as susceptible to suffer from anemia, nutrient deficiencies, impaired vision, and even cardiac problems. Malnutrition is a gross contributor of infant mortality in the country and 38 out of every 1,000 babies born in India die before their first birthday. Malnutrition among adult also leads to poor health in adults that leaches their capacity for manual labour leading to a decrease in income due to weakness and diseases. Poverty also causes definite decline in the sanitary practices among poor who cannot afford proper bathrooms and disinfectants. As a result susceptibility to waterborne diseases peak among the poor. Lack of access to as well as means to procure appropriate treatment also affects overall mortality of the population which is lower in poor countries than developed nations like the USA.   2. Effects on Society – poverty exerts some gravely concerning effects over the overall societal health as well. These may be discussed along the following lines:- a. Violence and crime rate – incidence of violence and crime have been found to be geographically coincident. In a backdrop of unemployment and marginalization, the poor resort to criminal activities to earn money. Coupled with lack of education and properly formed moral conscience, a poverty ridden society is more susceptible to violence by its people against its own people from a sense of deep-seated discontent and rage. b. Homelessness – apart from a definite drop in the esthetic representation of the country, homelessness affects child health, women safety and overall increase in criminal tendencies. c. Stress – lack of money is a major cause of stress among the middle-class and the poor and leads to decline in productivity of individuals. d. Child labour – one of the hallmarks of a poverty-ridden society is the widespread practices of exploitation and the worst of it comes in the form of child labour. Large families fail to meet the monetary needs of the members and children as young as 5 years are made to start earning in order to contribute to the family income. e. Terrorism – proclivity of youth towards terrorism stems from a combination of extreme poverty and lack of education making them susceptible to brainwashing. Terrorist organizations offer poverty-ridden families money in exchange for a member’s participation in their activities which induces a sense of accomplishment among the youth. 3. Effect on Economy –poverty is a direct index indicating success of the economy of the country. The number of people living under the poverty threshold indicates whether the economy is powerful enough to generate adequate jobs and amenities for its people. Schemes providing subsidies for the poor of the country again impose a drain on the economy.   SOLUTIONS: ✓ Population Control: Population in India has been increasing rapidly. Growth rate of population is 1.8%. For removal of poverty the growth rate of population should be lowered. ✓ Increase in Employment:Special measures should be taken to solve the problems of unemployment and disguised unemployment. Agriculture should be developed. Small scale and cottage industries should be developed in rural areas to generate employment. ✓Equal distribution of Income: Mere increase in production and control on population growth will not remove poverty in India. It is necessary that inequality in the distribution of income should be reduced. ✓Regional poverty:In States like Orissa, Nagaland, U.P and Bihar etc. the percentage of the poor to the total population is high. Govt. should give special concession for investment in these regions. More PSU’s should be established in these states. ✓Increase in the productivity of the Poor: To remove poverty, it is necessary to increase productivity of the poor. The poor should be given more employment. More investment should be made in pubic and private sectors to generate employment. ✓Development of Agriculture: The agriculture should be developed to remove poverty. Rapid rate of growth of agriculture production will help to remove urban as well as rural poverty. Agriculture should be mechanized and modernized. Marginal farmers should be given financial assistance. ✓Increase in the rate of growth: Slow rate of growth is the main cause of poverty. So growth rate must be accelerated. In 2003-04 the growth rate has been 6.5% despite that 26% of population remains below poverty line. And the end,measurement of poverty is really very tricky,as different places have different understandings of poverty at different times. For example,a poor person in USA could be one who doesnt own a car.But in india,having a car is a luxury only some can dream of us.Thus,measuring several aspects of one's nutrition and income determines poverty in india. Lastly,"EDUCATION IS A BATTLE AGAINST POVERTY THAT EVERYONE SHOULD FIGHT FOR AND POVERTY IS NOT MADE BY GOD,IT IS CREATED BY YOU AND ME WHEN WE DONT SHARE WHAT WE HAVE."

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