Below the poverty line

Poverty reduction is one of those subjects on which violent arguments arise despite one basic area of agreement. Everyone across the economic spectrum agrees poverty reduction is an excellent thing. People disagree on the methods, the details and the definition of poverty. How much do you need to earn on a daily basis to be above the poverty limit? That question has various answers, which is partly where disagreement arises.
 
When it comes to India where the data-gathering system is poor, tending to dysfunctional, the disagreements are larger. In 2012, the Indian government reckoned that about 22 per cent