Poverty Defined - Less Than 50 Cents Daily




(New Delhi, India) Although India boasts a burgeoning class of urban rich, it's estimated by the Planning Commission that 37 percent of the 1.2 billion population live below the poverty line -- defined as anyone who earns less than 50 cents per day, far below the World Bank’s figure of $1.25 a day.

Those with a daily income of 25 rupees (50 cents) in villages and 32 rupees (65 cents) in cities should be ineligible for subsidised food and other supplies, the Planning Commission told India’s Supreme Court.

Anyone earning above these levels would have enough funds for “food, education and health”, the commission said in a submission to the court lodged on Tuesday.

Not everyone agrees with the poverty level established by the Planning Commission.

“There is no way one person can feed and house himself on 32 rupees in a city for a day. This figure has no meaning for the common man,” Anupama Datta, deputy head of the National Slum Dwellers Federation, told AFP.

Heh.