Poverty

Congress looted poor in name of poverty elimination, says PM Modi

PM Modi said, Congress always worked on the agenda of keeping the poor, poor

Brazil's G20 priorities align with those India had in 2024: Foreign secy

Misri added that the key priorities of Brazilian presidency are hunger and poverty, the same as India's concerns during its presidency

Haryana's per capita income at Rs 3 lakh, but 70% are below poverty line

Data shows that around 7.5 million people have fallen into poverty in the past two years. However, this figure may not fully reflect Haryana's poverty situation due to registration limitations

Zero poverty scheme: UP official meets 1st beneficiary in visit to villages

A family in Salauli village, around 17 km from Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, was selected as the first beneficiary of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's ambitious scheme to eradicate extreme poverty from the state. Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh visited several villages before talking a decision on the family that will be eligible for the UP government's 'Zero Poverty Scheme'. He travelled only with his wife and without his usual entourage to identify the beneficiaries, a statement issued on Saturday said. "His search ended in Gosaiganj, Lucknow, where he met a family who truly needed support. Engaging in a heartfelt conversation, he extended Diwali greetings, presenting them with sweets and gifts," the statement read. 'Zero Poverty Scheme' aims to the eliminate extreme poverty in Uttar Pradesh by identifying 25 lakh underprivileged families across Uttar Pradesh, enabling them to access government benefits and boost their annual income to Rs 1,25,000 per family, it said. A statew

India among 5 nations with largest number of people living in poverty: UN

India is among the five countries globally with the largest number of people living in poverty, according to the UN report that said 1.1 billion people, over half of them minors, live in acute poverty worldwide. The latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released on Thursday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) based at the University of Oxford. It said that 1.1 billion people live in acute poverty worldwide, with 40 per cent living in countries experiencing war, fragility and/or low peacefulness, according to at least one of the three widely used datasets of conflict settings. India has 234 million people living in poverty, which is medium Human Development Index, placing the country among five globally with the largest number of people living in poverty. The other four countries are Pakistan (93 million), Ethiopia (86 million), Nigeria (74 million) and the Democratic Republi

How long will people of Chhattisgarh remain poor: Min defends coal mining

Chhattisgarh Forest and Climate Change Minister Kedar Kashyap has defended coal mining and other developmental projects in the state, saying these are essential for improving the living standards of the people. In an interview with PTI, Kashyap also said that the state government will ensure strict implementation of the law in response to the Centre's recent directions to expedite the relocation of villages from core areas in tiger reserves. Asked about protests against tree felling for a coal project in the biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Aranya forest, the minister acknowledged that some people have opposed coal and other development projects but stressed that most have supported these. "How long will the people of this resource-rich region remain poor? Development and energy are equally important. People need jobs. Yes, if trees are cut, it is our responsibility to compensate for that loss. We must also ensure that the health and livelihoods of affected communities are protected," he ..

China to give one-off cash handouts for poor people in rare use of aid

While amount is unknown, deployment of one-time handouts within such a short period of time appears to be a departure for a government that has long eschewed what President Xi Jinping calls welfarism

Assam's 3rd poverty alleviation scheme launched for 372K beneficiaries

The Assam government on Thursday rolled out the third edition of its flagship poverty alleviation scheme 'Orunodoi', covering 37.2 lakh beneficiaries for direct cash transfer. The 'Orunodoi 3.0' has upped the number of beneficiaries by over 12.5 lakh people across the state from 24.6 lakh recipients of the second edition of this scheme, and thus became the largest state-run DBT initiative in Assam ever. During the day, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the process of distributing Orunodoi Cards to new beneficiaries at a programme held here. The scheme, which is designed to empower women members of poor families, will deposit Rs 1,250 per month directly to their bank accounts on the 10th day of every month. "As substantial time has elapsed since its first launch, it has become essential to update information and implement the scheme with improved standards and procedures. Therefore, it has become vital to phase out Orunodoi 1.0 and Orunodoi 2.0, without transferring any ..

US inflation-adjusted income rose in 2023 while poverty rate edged up: Data

Employment growth averaged around 250,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs a month over the course of 2023, well above the 183,000 average over the decade preceding the pandemic

Activists criticise high cost of Pope Francis' visit to 'poor' East Timor

East Timor pulled out all stops for Pope Francis' historic visit to one of the world's youngest and poorest countries to the tune of USD 12 million, drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organisations in a nation where almost half the population lives in poverty. The cost for the two-day visit starting Monday was approved by the government through the Council of Ministers in February, including USD 1 million to build an altar for a papal Mass. Walls were still being dabbed with fresh paint and banners and billboards filled the streets of the seaside capital, Dili, to welcome the pontiff, who earlier visited Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. About 42 per cent of East Timor's population of 1.3 million live below the poverty line, according to the UN Development Programme. Unemployment is high, job opportunities in the formal sector are generally limited and most people are subsistence farmers with no steady income. The country's budget for 2023 was USD 3.16 billion. The ...

India progresses in feeding people, has miles to go to meet target

Despite improvement, one in four of the world's undernourished live in the country

Here's how smartphones became India's superhero in fight against poverty

'India has been able to lift 800 million people out of poverty over the past five to six years simply by the use of smartphones,' said UNGA President Dennis Francis

India lifted 800 mn people out of poverty 'simply by smartphone': UNGA prez

He highlighted how people in rural areas of India, are able to make payments and pay bills just on the touch of a smartphone

Rural India drives drop in poverty count over 6 years: Economic Survey

Survey says nearly 135 mn have emerged from multidimensional poverty

Poverty declines to 8.5% in 2022-24 from 21.2% in 2011-12: NCAER paper

Poverty in India is estimated to have declined to 8.5 per cent in 2022-24 from 21.2 per cent in 2011-12, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, according to a research paper by the economic think tank NCAER. The paper titled 'Rethinking Social Safety Nets in a Changing Society', authored by Sonalde Desai of NCAER, used data from the newly completed Wave 3 of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) as well as data from Waves 1 and 2 of the IHDS. "According to the IHDS findings...poverty declined significantly between 2004-2005 and 2011-12 (from a headcount ratio of 38.6 to 21.2), and it continued to decline between 2011-12 and 2022-24 (from 21.2 to 8.5) despite the challenges posed by the pandemic," the paper said. The paper said economic growth and poverty decline create a dynamic climate that requires nimble social protection programmes. Traditional strategies designed to address chronic poverty in a large segment of society may be less effective as accidents of birth bec

The new tale of two Indias

There are two distinct political narratives in the country today--one giving voice to an "aspiring India" and the other to a "hopeless India". Both factions have their work cut out

Oxfam urges G7 to tap fraction of military spend to resolve hunger, debt

The G7 - comprising the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Britain - is set to meet in Italy this week where leaders will discuss issues such as climate change, migration, debt

Left govt in Kerala enters fourth year, CM says poverty to end by 2025

As the Left government in Kerala marks its fourth year in office, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday the government plans to develop a knowledge economy and eradicate extreme poverty in the state by November 1, 2025. Listing out achievements of the Kerala government, Vijayan said in a statement that the consecutive Left governments have focused on developing basic infrastructure in the state. "This government is striving to transform Kerala into a knowledge economy, emphasising achievements in infrastructure development and the welfare sector. As part of it, we are addressing deficiencies and eliminating gaps in various areas. Kerala already has the lowest poverty rate in India, and we are now taking steps towards eradicating extreme poverty. By November 1, 2025, Kerala aims to become a state free of extreme poverty," Vijayan said. Vijayan said that while the Union government fails to fill the numerous vacancies in various Central government establishments, including

250,000 Afghan children require education, food and homes, says NGO

A quarter of a million Afghan children need education, food and homes after being forcibly returned from Pakistan, a nongovernmental organisation said Thursday. Pakistan is cracking down on foreigners it alleges are in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans. It insists the campaign is not directed against Afghans specifically, but they make up most of the foreigners in the country. More than 520,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since last October. Save the Children said families are entering Afghanistan with virtually nothing and that nearly half of all returnees are children. A survey of families by the NGO said nearly all of them lacked enough food for the next one to two months. Some returnees and host families had to borrow money for food or rely on friends and relatives for food. Almost two thirds of children who have returned to Afghanistan have not been enrolled in school, according to Save the Children. The majority told the organisation they don't have the ...

Climate change, war, poverty biggest challenges: World Bank's Ajay Banga

There was no shortage of stressors to the global economy when Ajay Banga took charge at the World Bank almost a year ago: inflation eating at nations drowning in debt, a once-in-a-generation pandemic, climate disasters and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Factor in the Israel-Hamas war and rising tensions between powerful nations, and today's agenda is even fuller as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund hold their spring meetings in Washington this week. The world's intertwined challenges of poverty which clearly we have seen great setbacks over the past few years combined with fragility and conflict and violence, combined with climate change, is coming into a perfect storm, Banga said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We need to put all of our efforts into this. Banga highlighted new initiatives being announced at the meetings, including plans to provide 300 million people in Africa with electricity by 2030 and 1.5 billion people worldwide with health care .