NITI Aayog task force may suggest separate poverty indicators for social schemes

The issue of one poverty number continues to absorb the NITI Aayog, and indications are that its task force on elimination of poverty will suggest having separate indicators for different social schemes such as health and housing.

“A debate has been on within the task force on whether there should be one poverty number or separate indicators for different schemes… Discussions are also taking place on whether the Aayog should actually get involved defining the numbers at all,” said an official associated with the task force.

“With the task force yet to submit its final report, the NITI Aayog has not taken a firm view on it,” Bibek Debroy, a member of both the NITI Aayog and the task force, told

BusinessLine . The task force was to give the report to the States by June 15, 2015 and thereafter process their comments to prepare a final draft within the next the two weeks. A presentation was to be made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November. But that did not happen.

According to a discussion paper circulated by the task force last year, in case one poverty number is required, it may not be necessarily calculated by the NITI Aayog, but jointly by the Rural Development Ministry — for rural poor — and the Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry — for urban poor — or the Statistical Commission.

Census in the works The Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry is carrying out a census, which will throw up a number for the urban poor. Calculation on rural poverty is based on the 2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census of the Rural Development Ministry. The Ministry has reportedly classified 31.26 per cent of rural households as poor based on four of seven indicators. The Rangarajan Committee, a technical expert group set up by the UPA government in 2012, had classified 30.95 per cent of rural Indians as poor in 2011-12.

The reason for the NITI Aayog soft-pedalling the poverty number issue, according to another official, “also arises from the fact whether the Aayog should actually be involving itself with numbers and deviating from its real mandate of being a think-tank for policy issues,” another official added.

The task force, headed by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, includes besides Bibek Debroy, Chief Statistician TCA Anant, economist Surjit Bhalla, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy Director Rathin Roy, and secretaries to the ministries/departments of rural development, housing and urban poverty alleviation, financial services, MSME and skill development.