Rangarajan Line: 15 years on, how poverty is measured today in India, Pg13.

Key Highlights:

• A committee led by C Rangarajan in 2014 estimated poverty lines at Rs 1,407 (urban) and Rs 972 (rural) monthly per capita expenditure.
• RBI economists updated the Rangarajan line using the 2022-23 HCES data for 20 major states.
• Odisha and Bihar showed the largest poverty decline between 2011-12 and 2022-23, around 40 percentage points.
• Kerala and Himachal Pradesh experienced the least decline in poverty, but have the lowest poverty levels.

Detailed Insights:

• The Rangarajan Committee's poverty thresholds defined anyone spending above Rs 47 (urban) and Rs 32 (rural) per day as 'not poor'.
• The RBI study avoided using CPI to update poverty lines due to differences between the CPI basket and the Rangarajan Poverty Line Basket (PLB).
• SBI Research estimated poverty in 2023-24 at 4.86% (rural) and 4.09% (urban) using poverty lines of Rs 1,632 and Rs 1,944, respectively.
• The government now focuses on multidimensional poverty, assessing health, education, and living standards through 12 indicators.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Poverty Line: The minimum level of income deemed adequate to secure the necessities of life.
• Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES): A survey that collects data on household spending patterns.
• Consumer Price Index (CPI): A measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services.