A day after being slammed by the Opposition as well as UPA allies for “fraudulent” poverty estimates, a Planning Commission member on Thursday said that an expert group would revisit the methodology.
The group will be constituted in the next three months for which the decision was taken in December last year by the Government, the Minister of State for Planning, Mr Ashwani Kumar, told newspersons here on Thursday.
He said the technical group would also have the benefit of the Socio-economic and Caste Economic Census 2011 data, being carried out by the Rural Development Ministry.
On Wednesday, Samajwadi Party leader, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, emboldened by his party's recent victory in the Uttar Pradesh elections, had even demanded the removal of Plan panel Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, for fixing a low poverty line.
According to the Planning Commission's estimates, the poverty ratio has been pegged at 29.8 per cent in 2009-10, down from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05. These are based on the daily per capita consumption of Rs 28.65 in urban cities and Rs 22.42 in rural areas.
However, Mr Ahluwalia clarified a day later, saying that there was “serious discrepancy” in the National Sample Survey data and National Accounts, which had led to pegging such a low poverty line. He went on to say that the actual poverty estimates would come out in 2013, and could be even lower.