Poverty is not just lack of money

“Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one’s full potential as a
human being”
This is a Quote by Amartya Sen

According to the ​ World Bank​ , Poverty is pronounced ​ deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions​ . It includes low incomes and the ​ inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity​ . Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life.

Poverty is more than just lack of money, deprivation of a person’s capabilities to live the life they have reason to value​ . The capability approach looks at the range of options available for the individual to choose from and the freedom to exercise that choice. A person below poverty line is not just lack of money, it is an indication of the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty is not just lack of money but is a mark of low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. ​ This incapability​ leads to hopelessness , And in this global world with an plethora of opportunities this hopelessness leads to fear and uncertainty Which fades away the hope of a better future​ . Hence poverty is not just lack of money, it is a ​ multi dimensional social evil.

Furthermore Poverty leads to a ​ devilious “Poverty Trap” which ​ affects both Growth and Development cycle​ . How poverty affects ​ Growth cycle: Low income leads to low saving which in turn leads to low investment which results in low economic growth which ultimately results in low income thus forming a vicious cycle​ , Similarly The development cycle also runs in the opposite direction as Low income leads to low level of education and health care which in turn leads to low level of human capital which results in low productivity which ​ ultimately results in low income thus forming another
vicious cycle​ and thus ​ poverty becomes inevitable and slowly people drown in this brutal cycle​ . Generally poverty is associated with lack of money, measured on the basis as those who live on $1.90 per day or less . ​ In India the poverty line is defined on the basis of monthly spending on food, education, health, electricity and transport. According to this estimate, a ​ person who spends Rs. 27.2 in rural areas and Rs. 33.3 in urban areas a day​ are defined as living below the poverty line. It is regretful that in India, ​ 21.9% ​ of the population lives below the national poverty line in ​ 2011​ . ​ The
Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) found that about ​ 420 million people are considered destitute (People having an extreme lack of basic living standards). Most of them live in South Asia. About ​ 343 million live in India​ .

While on the bright side The ​ Global Multidimensional Poverty Index-2018 released by the UN noted that ​ 271 million people moved out of poverty between 2005-06 and 2015-16 in India. The ​ poverty rate in the country has nearly halved, falling from 55% to 28% over the ten-year period. Still a big part of the population in India is still living Below the Poverty Line. As Poverty is not just lack of money, Hence, ​ Policies which concentrate beyond just increasing the income are the need of the hour ​ as rightly quoted by Amartya Sen (nobel laureate).

“Poverty is the deprivation of opportunity.”

The Government of India has recognised the need for ​ policies that focus not just on increasing income of the people below poverty line, the focus of the policy makers has also ​ shifted on increasing capability of the poor people through expanding opportunities of healthcare, education, skill development and ending gender based and caste based partiality leading to deprivation of opportunities​ . Thus in recent years ​ schemes like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) ,Beti bachao beti padhao , Skill India mission and Sarva shiksha Abhiyaan and many such policiesl point out that that government wants to increase the capability of the poor people so that they could live a life meaningful to them in long run.