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Which of the following statements with regard to the Report of Tendulkar Committee (2009) on poverty estimates is/are correct? 1. The Committee had used an all-India urban poverty line basket as a reference to derive both rural and urban poverty levels. 2. The Committee had anchored the poverty line to the official food calorie norms. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Explanation
The Suresh Tendulkar Committee (2009) introduced significant changes to India's poverty estimation methodology. Statement 1 is correct because the committee moved away from separate rural and urban baskets, instead using the all-India urban poverty line basket as the reference to derive both rural and urban poverty levels [2]. This was a departure from the previous Lakdawala methodology [2]. Statement 2 is incorrect because the committee explicitly decided not to anchor the poverty line to official food calorie norms [3]. It found a poor correlation between calorie intake and nutritional outcomes, leading it to abandon the strict calorie-norm in favor of a broader consumption-based approach that included spending on health and education [2]. Consequently, while the urban poverty line remained consistent with previous estimates, the rural poverty line was adjusted upward to match the urban basket's purchasing power [4].
Sources
- [1] https://forms.iimk.ac.in/libportal/reports/232858161-Planning-Commission-report-on-poverty-estimates.pdf
- [2] https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=108291
- [3] https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/353734/1/IQ_219_25022010_U384_p184_p185.pdf
- [4] https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/847861468257945118/pdf/946460v10JRN0B0O0900170adev0a000021.pdf