CURSE OF POPULATION EXPLOSION: POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT with Special Reference to India

ABHISHEK LAHIRYROLL: 33SEMESTER: 1ST

INTRODUCTION

CONCEPT OF POVERTY : The definition of poverty matters because how it is defined determines how much poverty there is believe to be. The definition can also influence the explanations of poverty and the possible solution that are put forward.

Poverty is a situation that gives rise to a feeling of a discrepancy between what one has and what one should have.

What one should have is an internal construct; hence, each person’s feeling and experience of poverty is individual and unique. But, the feeling of ‘powerlessness’ and ‘resourcelessness’ is possessed by all poor people.

CONCEPT OF UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking work. An unemployed person is “one who having potentialities and willingness to earn, is unable to find remunerative work”.

During periods of recession, an economy usually experiences a relatively high unemployment rate. According to International Labour Organization report, more than 200 million people globally or 6% of the world's workforce were without a job in 2012.

BACKGROUND OF POVERTY IN INDIAAccording to UNIDO’s ‘Yearbook of Statistics 2010’ India has emerged as one of the worlds top ten countries in Industrial production, ranks tenth in GNP, yet it has a large population that is extremely poor. Here is the historical scenario-

Poverty in India is a historical reality. From late 19th century through early 20th century, under British colonial rule, poverty in India intensified, peaking in 1920s.

According to Ansari and Akhtar (2012) at the beginning of new millennium, 260 million people in India did not have income to access a consumption basket which defines the poverty line.

According to National Sample Survey Organization results people living below poverty line(BPL) have dramatically come down during the post-economic reform era; from 30% in 1993-94 to 26% in 1999-2000.After 1947 poverty increased rapidly, peaking post-independence in 1960s. Rapid economic growth since 1991, has led to sharp reductions in extreme poverty in India. Lack of basic essentials of life such as safe drinking water, sanitation, housing, health infrastructure as well as malnutrition impact the lives of hundreds of millions.

Fig- 1

Source: Census of India,2011

HISTORY OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN INDIA

From 1983 till 2011, Unemployment rates in India averaged 9 percent reaching an all-time high of 9.4 percent in December 2010 and a record low of 3.8 Percent in December 2011.

The number of unemployed persons in India decreased to 39963 thousand in 2009 from 39974 thousand in 2007.

Unemployed persons in India and Kenya averaged 36933 thousand from 1985 until 2009, reaching an all-time high of 41750 thousand in 2001 and a record low of 24861 thousand in 1985.

The report for 2012-13 states that Sikkim has the maximum number of unemployed people where as Chhattisgarh has the minimum number of unemployed people in the country.

According to a National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) last year also there was a dip in India’s employment rate that had gone down to 38.6% in 2011-12 (July-June) from 39.2% in 2009-10.

Fig-2:Source: Development Report,2011

RELATION BETWEEN POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT

There exists a direct and positive relationship between Unemployment and Poverty. Unemployment leads to Poverty in turns leads to Unemployment. An unemployed person has no means to earn money and cannot fulfill his own and his family basic needs. He and his family cannot avail quality education, and has no means to create income earning assets. Such circumstances often compel indebtedness. This confirms the positive relationship between unemployment and poverty

Fig-3

If government wants to alleviate poverty, then it should aim at creating new employment opportunities. As a result, more people will get employed and perhaps their income will rise.

TYPES OF POVERTY

POVERTY

ABSOLUTE POVERTYAbsolute poverty refers to a set standard which is consistent over time and between countries. First introduced in 1990, the dollar a day poverty line measured absolute poverty by

the standards of the world’s poorest countries.

RELATIVE POVERTYRelative poverty views poverty as socially defined and

dependent on social context, hence relative poverty is a measure of income inequality. Usually, relative poverty is

measured as the percentage of population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income

UNEMPLOYMENT CAN BE OF VARIUOS TYPES:

Why India is Poverty Struck?

Individuals: The ideology of individualism which finds the cause of poverty within the individuals is that success and failure of an individual are his personal matters. If one ends up in poverty, it is his own fault .The ideology maintains that poverty is good for society because the fittest will survive.

Rapidly rising population: On average 17 million people are added every year to its population which raises the demand for consumption goods considerably

Low productivity in agriculture: The level of productivity in agriculture is low due to sub divided and fragmented holdings, lack of capitals, use of tradition method of civilization, illiteracy etc.

Unemployment: The continuously expanding army of unemployment is another cause of poverty.

Low rate of economic development: The rate of economic development in India has been below the required level. The net result is poverty.

The other causes of poverty are like Price Rise, Under utilize resource, Shortage of capital, Social factors, Political factors etc.

Fig:4

Fig:5

Why Are We Unemployed?

Degrading social or work status causes unemployment in the sense that some people consider it below their dignity to take up certain jobs and prefer to remain unemployed.

The upsurge in the birth rate or the rapid growth of population is a factor which immensely affects the availability of work.

Unemployment is triggered off by geographical immobility too.

Unemployment is also a result of the defective educational system.

How far the curse poverty has spread over India?

Fig:6

Source: Census Of India 1991

Fig:7

Source: Planning Commission Press Note on Poverty Estimate, 2009

Fig:8

Source: Census Of India,2001

Unemployment- killing youth in India

Fig:9

Source: Indian Labor Bureau ,2010

Fig:10Fig:11

Source: Census Of India,2001 Source: Census Of India,2011

PROBLEMS RELATED TO POVERTY

Malnutrition: This is especially seen in children of poor families. People living in poverty rarely have access to highly nutritious foods. A family on a very small budget is much more likely to purchase food that is less nutritious, simply because that is all they can afford.

Health: This includes things from diseases to life expectancy to medicine. Diseases are very common in people living in poverty because they lack the resources to maintain a healthy living environment.

Education: Many people living in poverty are unable to attend school from a very early age. Families may not be able to afford the necessary clothing or school supplies. Others may not have a way for their children to get to school.

Economy: Mainly, the number of people living in poverty influences employment rates heavily. Without an education, people are unlikely to find a paying job. Unemployment hinders a country from developing into a strong economic system.

Society: Many people living in poverty are homeless, which puts them on the streets. There also seems to be a connection between poverty and crime. When people are unemployed and homeless, social unrest may take over and lead to increases in crime.

PROBLEMS RELATED TO UNEMPLOYMENT

Insecurity amongst employeesDecrease the level of Standard of leavingEmployment gapsLoss of skills’ usageIncrease of Crime and violencePolitical issuesHealth diseases

HOW FAR INDIA HAS GONE REDUCING POVERTY?

Several poverty alleviation programmes have been launched by the government for the rural poor, comprising the small and marginal farmers, landless labors & rural artisans, as well as urban poor. This programmes are as follows :

Intrigated Rural Development ProgrammeIndira Awaas YojnaPradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojna- Gramin AwaasSampoorna Gramin Rozgar YojnaAntodaya Anna YojnaNational Rural Employment Guarantee SchemeSwarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar YojnaMahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

UNEMPLOYMENT: IS IT SOLVED?

What are the job avenues open today to the new entrants in the employment market? The XXXI Indian Labor Conference held in 1994 in Delhi suggested the following measures for the galloping jobless conundrum in the country:

a) Encouraging Self-employmentb) Drastic recognition of vocational coursec) Identifications of skills needed in the present day context

It may thus be pointed out that the remedial measures for reducing unemployment must lay greater emphasis on : 1) Augmentation of productivity and income levels of the working poor; 2) Shift in emphasis from creation of relief type of employment to the building up of durable productive assets in the rural areas & 3) Instead of attempting to revert somewhat to protectionist policy and emphasizing on Common minimum programme.

INDIA…WAY TO GO:

Poverty is considerd to be the greatest curse of a developing economy. It is the mother of unemployment, tension, criminal urgency and disgrace in human life. It is true, that India not being an exceptional nation, is also being considerably engulfed with these problems, and thus special attention needs to be paid, in selection of appropriate measures to combat these problems. So long as we have a double mind about what path of developmental style to adopt, we will fail economically in our goals. It is not lack of resources or technical skills which are hindrances in our development, it is lack of political policies.

In the concluding remark, the greatest economist Prof. Dr. Amartya Sen do belive that most Indians are unaware of poverty and unemployment eradication measures, which itself a curse to them.

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