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Which committee was constituted in 2012 to review the methodology for measuring poverty in India?
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Answer: Option D — Rangarajan Committee
Detailed Solution
In 2012, the Planning Commission set up an expert group headed by Dr C. Rangarajan, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and former Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, to review the methodology for measuring poverty.
The committee was set up after the poverty line based on the earlier Tendulkar Committee's method came under heavy public criticism in 2011-12. According to that method, a person spending more than about ₹27 a day in rural areas and ₹33 a day in urban areas (2011-12 prices) was not considered poor, which many people felt was far too low.
The Rangarajan Committee submitted its report in June 2014. Its main recommendations were:
- The poverty line should be ₹32 per person per day (₹972 per month) in rural areas and ₹47 per person per day (₹1,407 per month) in urban areas, at 2011-12 prices.
- For a family of five, this works out to about ₹4,860 per month in rural areas and ₹7,035 per month in urban areas.
- The poverty line should be based on a basket of food items (to meet the requirements of calories, protein and fat) and essential non-food items such as clothing, housing, transport and education.
Using its method, it estimated that 29.5% of India's population (about 36.3 crore people) was below the poverty line in 2011-12, compared with 21.9% under the Tendulkar method. It also estimated poverty at 38.2% in 2009-10.
The government did not formally adopt the Rangarajan poverty line. The Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015. A task force under NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya also examined the issue but did not settle on a single line.
Earlier committees:
Y.K. Alagh Task Force (1979): calorie-based poverty line (2,400 rural, 2,100 urban).
D.T. Lakdawala Expert Group (1993): state-specific poverty lines.
Suresh Tendulkar Committee (2009): a broader consumption basket.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The Tendulkar Committee reported in 2009.
- ✗The Lakdawala Committee reported in 1993.
- ✗The Alagh Task Force reported in 1979.
Quick tip
Remember: Rangarajan Committee (2012, report 2014) = poverty line ₹32/day rural and ₹47/day urban, poverty 29.5% (2011-12); Tendulkar = 21.9%; Alagh = calories; Lakdawala = state-wise lines.
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Poverty, Unemployment & Development — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Poverty, Unemployment & Development, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the problems of the Indian economy and how they are measured: poverty and the poverty line, committees on poverty estimation, types of unemployment, human development indices, and the programmes designed to tackle poverty and unemployment. Questions often ask which committee estimated poverty (such as the Lakdawala, Tendulkar and Rangarajan committees), what disguised and seasonal unemployment mean, and which organisation publishes the Human Development Index (UNDP). Rankings and indices change every year, so check the latest reports for those questions. Practise the poverty, unemployment and development questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.