Consider the following statements regarding poverty in India : 1. While determining poverty line in India, a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirements, etc. are determined for subsistence. 2. The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in urban areas. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Both 1 and 2. Both statements describe the standard method used to draw India's poverty line.
A poverty line is the income or spending needed to meet basic needs. To fix it, planners first decide the minimum food, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, education and medical care a person needs to subsist, and then find what these cost. The food part is set in calories. The accepted norm, from the 1979 Alagh task force, is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 in urban areas. Rural people get a higher norm because they usually do more physical work. Later expert groups (Tendulkar 2009, Rangarajan 2014) added more non-food items.
A is wrong because statement 2 is also correct. B is wrong because statement 1 is also correct. D is wrong because both statements are true.
Exam tip: Calorie norm: rural 2400, urban 2100 per person per day; rural is higher because of heavier physical work.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following is not a dimension of the Human Development Index?
- A.A long and healthy life
- B.Knowledge
- C.Access to banking and other financial provisions
- D.A decent standard of living
Show answer
The Human Development Index of the UNDP has only three dimensions, and financial access is not one of them.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following are considered to be the four pillars of human development?
- A.Equity, inclusion, productivity and empowerment
- B.Equity, productivity, empowerment and sustainability
- C.Productivity, gender, inclusion and equity
- D.Labour, productivity, inclusion and equity
Show answer
These are the four pillars of human development set out by the economist Mahbub ul Haq, who led the team that prepared the first Human Development Report for the UNDP in 1990, working closely with Amartya Sen.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. A price index captures the change in the average price of a constant basket of commodities.
2. If the price index takes values 100, 110 and 121 in three consecutive years respectively, then the inflation rates in the 2nd and 3rd years are 10% and 21% respectively.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Statement 1 defines a price index correctly, but statement 2 gets the third year's inflation wrong. A price index such as the Consumer Price Index tracks the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services over time, compared with a base year whose value is set at 100.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is/are social security scheme(s) ?
1. Atal Pension Yojana
2. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
3. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1, 2 and 3
- D.1 and 3 only
Show answer
All three are social security schemes, launched together by the Government of India on 9 May 2015 to give pension and insurance cover to ordinary people, especially in the unorganised sector.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. GDP deflator captures the average price of an unchanging basket of commodities that constitutes the GDP of the country.
2. GDP deflator can be used to measure the real GDP of the economy but not the inflation rate.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Both statements misdescribe the GDP deflator. The deflator is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP, multiplied by 100.
Read the full explanation →