Zero Poverty!

Three years of Physics still helps me to faintly remember what Zero Gravity is. If Zero Gravity is weightlessness, so possibly Zero Poverty would be Poor-less-ness. Few years down the line, according to the esteemed estimate of the Planning Commission, there will not be a single poor in India.We will experience Poor-less-ness or Zero Poverty without any specialized instruments or scientific equipment. We just need to religiously swear by the findings of the Planning Commission. Even then, how does India manage to achieve such a challenging feat so quickly and with commendable speed, despite the high food price inflation, rising cost of the privatized medical care,utilities (Petrol, Electricity, gas),education, higher levels of unemployment? May be a single question mark wouldn't be enough. Going through the article in The Hindu by Prof Emeritus, JNU, Utsa Patnaik distresses one to the various statistical anomalies and its wider implications on the growth of this country. The Planning Commission which boasts of the best economists under its one roof has embarrassed us with claims of grossly unrealistic levels of 13.7 percent of poverty in urban areas and 25.7 percent in rural areas using monthly poverty lines. The logically incorrect estimation method the Commission continues to use,will in another four years eliminate Urban poverty to zero and rural poverty to 12 percent.This will be the case regardless of any rise in actual deprivation and intensification of actual poverty.

We should also know what is wrong with the Planning Commission's method of Estimation which is far from ground reality. How does it err in its calculations? The Commission in practice gave up its own definition of poverty line which was applied only once in 1973-74. The Poverty line is supposed to be derived on the basis of current spending level which will allow the population to maintain the same standard of living in terms of the nutrition after meeting all non-food costs.Also applying the price indexation which does not capture the actual rise in the cost of living over long periods.Not venturing any further into the Economics, but would like to question the very basic idea of such ignored reality?  A very good example that can be given on this spurious method goes like this : "a school child knows that if last year's percentage of students passing the annual examination is to be compared to this year's percentage, the pass mark should be the same. The school principal quietly lowers the pass mark if say, 50 to 40 and then claim that the performance of the school has improved because 80 per cent of the students are recorded as passed this year at the clandestinely lowered mark. If at the same mark of 50 we find that 70 per cent of students have passed this year ,we are justified in saying the performance. Now if the school is allowed to do the same every time and lower the pass mark time and again , it will eventually achieve the 100 per cent pass and Zero failure." Same goes with the official poverty lines.Why is there such dishonesty in counting the Poor or living in this delusional world of Zero Poverty?? Why do we want to live under the false belief or estimate, that poverty has declined when the actual story tells something totally different.. Poverty is soon going to disappear from India even though in actual reality it may be very high and worsening over time. Is it all the dirty game of politics? To marginally blind the voter and ink his hand with different party colour.

It is imperative to find ways of rectifying such mistakes. Accountability not just from the ministers but from organisations such as these, need to be devised. One possible way of reducing poverty could be the effective implementation of schemes which are eaten by the ministers and still give an impression of stomach-full of its population.Truth will make its way, However!