The Suresh Tendulkar Committee, set up in 2005, was related to:

The Suresh Tendulkar Expert Group was set up by the Planning Commission in 2005 to review the methodology for estimating poverty in India. It submitted its report in 2009.

About Suresh Tendulkar:

Professor Suresh D. Tendulkar was a well-known economist at the Delhi School of Economics.

He also served as Chairman of the National Statistical Commission and of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council.

Why a new method was needed:

• The earlier method, based on calorie intake, was criticised for not reflecting changing consumption patterns.
• Poverty lines were based on old price data and did not include spending on health and education properly.

Main features of the Tendulkar method:

• It moved away from calorie norms and used a broader basket of goods and services.
• It included spending on health and education in the poverty line.
• It used a uniform poverty line basket for rural and urban areas.
• It recommended using the Mixed Reference Period for consumption data.
• It adjusted for price differences between states.

Main findings:

• Poverty in India was estimated at 37.2 per cent of the population in 2004-05, higher than earlier estimates.
• Using its method, poverty in 2011-12 was estimated at 21.9 per cent.
• The poverty line for 2011-12 was about Rs 27 per day in rural areas and Rs 33 per day in urban areas.

Criticism:

• Critics said the poverty line was too low and did not reflect real living costs.
• This criticism led to the setting up of another expert group to review the method again.

Use of the estimates:

Poverty estimates are used to allocate funds to states and to decide coverage under welfare schemes.

Multidimensional poverty:

In recent years, NITI Aayog has also published a Multidimensional Poverty Index based on health, education and living standards.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Civil services reform, disinvestment and food security were studied by other bodies.