JAC Class 9 Social Science Important Questions Economics Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge

JAC Board Class 9th Social Science Important Questions Economics Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge

I. Objective Type Questions

1. In India, approximately how many people live in poverty?
(a) 30 crore
(b) 27 crore
(c) 20.2 core
(d) 88.3 crore.
Answer:
(b) 27 crore

2. In rural areas, average calories required person per day are
(a) 2100 calories
(b) 3000 calories
(c) 2400 calories
(d) 1700 calories.
Answer:
(c) 2400 calories

3. The average number of calories required per person per day in urban areas of India are
(a) 3000 calories
(b) 2400 calories
(c) 2900 calories
(d) 2100 calories.
Answer:
(d) 2100 calories.

4. Which of the following states of India has the highest poverty ratio?
(a) Odisha
(b) Bihar
(c) Uttar Pradesh
(d) Assam
Answer:
(b) Bihar

5. When was the Rural Employment Generation programme (REGP) launched?
(a) In 1992
(b) In 2005
(c) In 1993
(d) In 1995
Answer:
(d) In 1995

II. Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is Poverty?
Answer:
Poverty refers to a situation in which a person is not able to get the minimum basic necessities of life, e.g. food, clothing, shelter, etc. for his or her sustenance.

Question 2.
What is one of the biggest challenges of independant India?
Answer:
One of the biggest challenges of independent India is to bring millions of its people out of abject poverty.

Question 3.
What did Mahatma Gandhi always emphasize?
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi always emphasized that India would be truly independent only when the poorest of its people become free of human suffering.

Question 4.
Name some social indicators through which poverty is seen.
Answer:

1. Illiteracy,
2. Lack of general resistance due to malnutrition,
3. Lack of access to healthcare,
4. Lack of job opportunities,
5. Lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, etc.

Question 5.
Define vulnerability to poverty?
Answer:
Vulnerability to poverty is a measure which describes the greater probability of certain communities or individuals becoming or remaining poor in the coming years.

Question 6.
What is poverty line?
Answer:
Poverty line is an imaginary line used by any country to determine its poverty level.

Question 7.
When is a person considered poor?
Answer:
A person is considered poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given “minimum level” necessary to fulfil the basic needs.

Question 8.
What is considered when determining the poverty line in India?
Answer:
While determining the poverty line in India a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel and light, educational and medical requirement, etc. are determined for subsistence.

Question 9.
Why is the calorie requirement of people higher in rural areas as compared to urban areas?
Answer:
The calorie requirement of people in rural areas in higher because the rural people are engaged in more physical labour than people in urban areas.

Question 10.
What is the accepted average calorie requirement in India?
Answer:
The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in urban areas.

Question 11.
Which agency conducts the periodical sample surveys for estimating the poverty line in India?
Or
Which organization in India carries the periodical survey for the estimation of poverty?
Answer:
Poverty line is estimated periodically by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) by conducting sample surveys, generally after every 5 years.

Question 12.
What is the full form of NSSO?
Answer:
The full form of NSSO is National Sample Survey Organisation.

Question 13.
Which are the most Vulnerable groups of poverty?
Answer:
Scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, rural agricultural labour households and urban casual labour households are vulnerable to poverty.

Question 14.
What was the percentage of people living below the poverty line in 2011-12 in India.
Answer:
In 2011-12, 22 per cent of the population was living below the poverty line in India.

Question 15.
Name the two poorest states in India.
Answer:

1. Bihar
2. Odisha.

Question 16.
Name five states having the highest percentage of people below poverty line.
Answer:

1. Bihar,
2. Odisha,
3. Assam,
4. Madhya Pradesh,
5. Uttar Pradesh.

Question 17.
Name five states having the least percentage of people below poverty line.
Answer:

1. Kerala,
2. Himachal Pradesh,
3. Punjab,
4. Andhra Pradesh,
5. Haryana.

Question 18.
How have states like Punjab and Haryana been successful in reducing poverty?
Answer:
States like Punjab and Haryama have been successful in reducing poverty with high agricultural growth rates.

Question 19.
By what method has the state of West Bergal reduced poverty?
Answer:
Proper implementation of land reforms have helped to reduce poverty in West Bengal.

Question 20.
Why has Kerala succeeded in reducing poverty?
Answer:
By focusing more on human resource development.

Question 21.
Which standard is used by the World Bank for the estimation of poverty line?
Answer:
The World Bank uses a uniform standard for poverty line, which is the minimum income of the equivalent of $ 1.90 per person per day.

Question 22.
Why is World Bank important in estimating poverty line?
Answer:
Different countries have different poverty lines as per their existing level of devel¬opment. The World Bank compares countries by presenting a uniform standard for poverty line which is acceptable to all countries.

Question 23.
List some countries having the highest percentage of people below poverty line.
Answer:

1. Nigeria,
2. Bangladesh,
3. India,
4. Pakistan,
5. China.

Question 24.
Name any two causes of poverty in India.
Answer:

1. Low level of economic development during British rule,
2. Inefficient administration.

Question 25.
The current anti-poverty strategy of the government is based broadly on two planks Mention these.
Or
The present anti-poverty strategy of the Government of India is broadly based on what factors?
Answer:
The present anti-poverty strategy of the Government of India is broadly based on two planks :

1. Promotion of economic growth
2. targetted anti-poverty programmes.

Question 26.
Name any two anti-poverty programs.
Answer:

1. Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY)
2. Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).

Question 27.
Write the full form of MNREGA.
Answer:
Full form of MNREGA is Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Question 28.
Which act guarantees minimum 100 days employment per person per year in rural areas?
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Question 29.
When was MNREGA passed?
Answer:
MNREGA was passed in September 2005.

Question 30.
Which scheme has been started to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth in rural areas?
Answer:
Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY).

III. Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
How is poverty seen by social scientists?
Answer:
Poverty as seen by social scientists in the following way:

1. Poverty relates to the level of income and consumption.
2. Apart from this, poverty is looked at through other social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking weather, sanitation, etc.

Question 2.
What is social exclusion? Explain with an example.
Answer:
Social exclusion is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from facilities, benefits and opportunities that others enjoy.
Example: The caste system in India in which people belonging to certain castes are” excluded from equal opportunities.

Question 3.
Does poverty line vary with time and place?
Answer:
Yes, poverty line may vary with time and place. A person is considered poor, if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given minimum level that is necessary to satisfy basic needs. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs is different at different times and in different countries. Therefore, poverty line may vary with time and place.

Example: A person not having a car in the USA may be considered poor but in India owning a car is still considered a luxury.

Question 4.
What are the calories and rupees fixed for rural and urban areas for measuring the poverty line?
Answer:
The poverty line fixed for the rural and urban areas in India in the year 2012 was ₹ 186 and ₹ 100 per person per day for urban and rural areas, respectively. It is higher in urban areas because of higher prices of many essential commodities in urban centres. The accepted average calories requirement in India is 2400 calories in rural areas and 2100 in urban areas. It is high in the rural areas because of more physical work done by the rural people.

Question 5.
Briefly explain the principle measures taken in Punjab, Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal to reduce poverty.
Answer:
1. Punjab and Haryana:
These states have succeeded in reducing poverty due to high agricultural growth.

2. Kerala:
It has succeeded in reducing poverty by investing on human resource development. Kerala has the highest literacy rate in the country.

3. West Bengal:
In West Bengal land reform measures have helped in reducing poverty.

Question 6.
How are sociocultural and economic factors responsible for poverty in India?
Answer:
1. Sociocultural causes of poverty: In order to fulfil social obligations and observe religious ceremonies, most people in India including the very poor spend a lot of money. This takes them back to poverty.

2. Economic Causes of Poverty: Small farmers need money to buy agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizer, pesticides etc. Since poor people hardly have any savings, they borrow money and when there is crop failure they become indebted. This takes pusher them into poverty.

Question 7.
Which circumstances compelled the government to start targetted anti-poverty programmes?
Answer:
Following circumstances compelled the government to start targetted anti-poverty programmes:

1. Since the poor are not able of take advantage of the opportunities created for them, the growth in the agriculture sector is much below expectations.
2. In agriculture sector, a large number of poor people are unemployed for most part of the year, therefore, the need for targetted anti-poverty programmes was felt.

Question 8.
Give the main feature of Rural Employment Generation Programme.
Answer:
Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) was launched in 1995. The main features of REGP are:

1. Creation of self-employment opportunities in rural areas and towns.
2. Creation of 25 lakh near Jobs under the tenth five-year plan.

Question 9.
Why were the poverty alleviation programmes not successful in most parts of India?
Answer:
The poverty alleviation programmes were not successful in most parts of India for these reasons:

1. Lack of proper implementation and right targetting.
2. There has been a lot of overlapping of schemes.
3. Every year a huge number is added to the population pool of the country. This makes schemes ineffective.
4. Despite good intentions, the benefits of these schemes do not fully reach to the deserving poor.

IV. Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Analyse poverty on the basis of social exclusion and vulnerability.
Answer:
The analysis of poverty is based on social exclusion and vulnerability as follows:
1. Social exclusion:
Social exclusion means living in a poor surroundings with poor people, excluded from enjoying social equality of better off people in better surrounding. In India, Caste system is based on social exclusion. People belonging to certain castes were prevented from enjoying equal facilities, benefits and opportunities. This caused more poverty than that caused by lower income.

2. Vulnerability:
Vulnerability to poverty is a measure, which describes the greater probability of certain communities becoming or remaining poor in the coming years, e.g. members of a backward caste or individuals like widows, physically handicapped persons and so on. Vulnerability is determined by various options available to different communities in terms of assets, education, job, healthcare, etc. and analyses their ability to face various risks like natural disasters.

Question 2.
Explain the main features of the global poverty scenario.
Answer:
Following are the main features of global poverty scenario:

1. The priducortion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty defined by the World Bank as living on less than $ 1.90 per day has come down from from 36 per cent in 1990 to 10 per cent in 2015.
2. Poverty J.eclined substantially in China and South-East Asian countries as a result ox rapid economic growth and massive investment in human resource development.
3. In the countries of South Asia: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the decline has also been rapid-34 per cent in 2005 to 16.2 per cent in 2013.
4. In sub-Saharan Africa, poverty in fact declined from 51 per cent in 2005 to 41 per cent in 2005.
5. In Latin America, the ratio of poverty has also declined from 10 per cent in 2005 to 4 per cent in 2015.
6. Poverty has also resurfaced in some of the former socialist countries like Russia, where officially it was non-existent earlier.

Question 3.
“There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction” Explain the statement.
Answer:
It is clear that there is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction. The higher growth rates have helped significantly in the reduction of poverty. In the 1980s, India’s economic growth was one of the fastest in the world. The growth rate rose from the average of about 3.5% a year in the 1970s to about 6 percent during the 1980s and 1990s.

Economic growth widens opportunities and provides the resources needed to invest in human development. This also encourages people to send their children, including the girl child, to schools in the hope of getting better economic returns from investing in education. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction.

Question 4.
Describe any four poverty alleviation programmes currently being implemented in India.
Or
Describe any four anti-poverty programmes.
Answer:
Following are the four major poverty alleviation programmes implemented by the
Government of India.
1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA)

1. This act was passed in September 2005.
2. This act provides 100 days assured employment every year to every rural household.
3. It also aims at sustainable development by addressing the cause of drought, deforestation and soil erosion.
4. One-third of the proposed jobs have been reserved for women.
5. The scheme provided employment to 220 crore mandays of employment to 4.78 crore households.
6. The range of wage rate for different states and union territories lies in between ₹ 281 per day to ₹ 168 per day.

2. Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) .

1. This programme was launched in 1993.
2. It is aimed at providing self-employment opportunities to educated unemployed youth in the rural and small towns.
3. Under this programme, scheduled banks provide loans at a lower interest rate to start small businesses and set up industries.

3. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP)

1. This programme was launched in 1995.
2. The aim of the programme is to provide self-employment opportunities to educated unemployed youth in the rural areas and small towns.
3. A target for creating 25 Lakh new Jobs has been set for this programme under the Tenth five-year plan.

4. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY)

1. This programme was launched in 2000.
2. Under this programme, the Central Government provides additional assistance to the State Government for improving basic services in the village.
3. The major basic services covered under this programme are primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural electrification.

Question 5.
Review the future challenges in the context of poverty in India.
Answer:
Despite many plans to reduce poverty in India, the main reason for its partial success is lack of proper implementation and proper targetting. The benefits of these schemes could not be passed on to the poor, even after a good deal of sincere efforts have been made. Poverty has come down due to the implementation of many schemes, but the biggest problem of completely eradicating poverty is still standing before us.

Wide disparities in poverty are visible between rural and urban areas and among . different states. Certain social and economic groups are more vulnerable to poverty. Further, poverty should include not only the factor of adequate amount of food, but also other factors like education, healthcare, shelter, job security, gender equality, dignity and so on. These give as the true concept of human poverty.Poverty reduction is expected to be more effective in next 10-15 years.

In addition to anti-poverty measures, government should focus on the following to reduce poverty:

1. Higher economic growth
2. Universal free elementary education,
3. Decrease in population
4. Empowerment of women and weaker sections.

The official definition of poverty, however, captures only a limited part of what poverty really means to people. It is about a “minimum subsistence level of living rather than a “reasonable” level of living. Many scholars advocate that we must broaden the concept into human poverty. A large number of people many have been able to feed themselves.

But do they have education? or shelter? or healthcare? or job security? or self confidence? Are they free from caste and gender discrimination? Is the practice of child labour still common? World wide experience shows that with development, the definition of poverty is always a moving target.

Hopefully, we will be able to provide the minimum “necessary” in terms of only income to all people by the end of the next decade. But the target will move on for many of the bigger challenges that still remain: Providing healthcare, education and job security for all, and achieving gender equality, and dignity for the poor.

JAC Class 9 Social Science Important Questions