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Poverty definition in India
If you own a car, then you are “Above Poverty Line”?
Many BPL (Below Poverty Line) card holders in urban areas who own cars now find their cards automatically converted to the Above Poverty Line (APL) category, after their Aadhaar details revealed ownership of cars in the transport department data.. — -Deccanherald
In the human development approach, poverty is defined as the population in multidimensional deprivation. Because no single indicator can capture the multiple dimensions of poverty [1] Poor health and nutrition, lack of adequate hygiene environment, exclusion from society, less education, poor accommodation facilities, violence, and much more can be the indicators of poverty.
Yes, there are many poor people in India, who live in rented homes and not having any property as assets. But they may own low-cost cars for many other reasons other than leading a luxury life. They may have many kids or aged people at home and public transport commuters may be less or not always a feasible solution. Moreover, in this scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, such public transports are impossible in many situations. So public policymakers should open their eyes towards the human development approach and should incorporate the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) measures while designing such policies…
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