Poverty in India is widespread with the nation estimated to have one of the largest concentration of poor people in the world and housing a third of the world's poor. World Bank estimate, 42% of India falls below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day. The World Bank estimates that 456 million Indians (42% of the total Indian population) now live under the global poverty line of $1.25 per day. This means that a third of the global poor now reside in India.
On the other hand, the Planning Commission of India uses its own criteria and claims that 24% of the population is living below the poverty line. India has a higher rate of malnutrition among children under the age of three (46% in year 2007) than any other country in the world.
The educational system further deepens the plight of the country, with about half of the country's workforce being unemployable due to low quality of education.
In spite of these facts our government is blindly coming up with figures to digress its citizens from the core of the problem. The government boasts 9% GDP growth since past 3 years and a respectable 6.7% in 2008-09. We find the figures healthy and are content. But the fact remains-Poor is getting poorer and the rich, richer. In the latest budget, government doesn't seem to have any goals to address the poverty of our country.
Its time to change and focus on 1/4th of our countrymen not even having the freedom to have one time meal a day.
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