According to the World Bank Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report, extreme poverty, according to the International Poverty Line, was expected to affect between 9.1% and 9.4% of the world’s population in 2020. The term ‘ultra-poverty’ was coined by researcher Michael Lipton himself and defines the very poor, who spend 80 percent of their total expenditure on food and cannot meet 80 percent of their standard caloric requirements. They are variously referred to as the ‘extremely poor’, ‘the ultra-poor’, ‘the poorest of the poor’ and, often, interchangeably.
The ultra-poor have several important differences from the poor. Families living in extreme poverty are bound by unpredictable availability of wages, have few or no assets of a non-durable nature, have limited livelihood prospects and are socially, economically and geographically isolated. They are food insecure, living on less than 2 meals a day. Malnutrition exacerbates diseases that further deplete resources, borrowing from exploitative moneylenders. There are many government protection programs, and large-scale government livelihood programs that are targeted at the poor, however, many of these programs do not reach the ultra-poor and most vulnerable. They are also often out of reach of market-based solutions.
For policy makers and practitioners in India, the question remains how to identify and shape the ultra-poor in a country with such diverse contexts of marginalization. The most recent frame of reference is the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data which focuses on looking at the many underprivileged. SECC 2011 obtained data on the socio-economic status of 17.97 crore rural households, of which 0.16 crore. (0.91%) households are identified as the poorest and are automatically included based on the number of deprivations they face. The challenge with using SECC 2011 data is its date against inevitable population growth and changes over the past decade. What does the ground reality tell us?
Government programs for the poorest of the poor (POPs) have developed context specific strategies to target and identify the ultra-poor. Bihar, through its State Rural Livelihood Mission, is implementing the ‘Sustainable Livelihoods Scheme’ program to lift 2 lakh families out of extreme poverty; These families are being identified as toddy extractors, SC/ST households with female heads and single female heads. In Jharkhand, the special project UDAAN works with Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), characterized by declining or stagnant populations, who undertake pre-agriculture activities and largely depend on forest-based livelihoods. are, with very low levels of literacy and live in remote areas. and scattered geographical areas. The governments of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh target the poorest of the poor through convergence programs such as the Attapady program with the Irula and Muruga tribal and Kurumba PVTG communities and the Unnati program that continues to serve the POPs among the SC/ST community Is. Similar efforts are being made with the Vantangia and Sanwaria communities in Uttar Pradesh. The learnings from all these interventions have reinforced the need for a specialized strategy to address the issues of vulnerable communities due to their specific and multifaceted deprivations, as well as involving community-based organizations for the ultimate investigation of identity. The need has also been strengthened. household. What is remarkable about these projects is that these communities/families are identified as ultra-poor by the rest of the rural community, who are themselves experiencing vulnerability in their own context. He speaks strongly about the need for special assistance for the sole earning members of the household such as the elderly and the abandoned, destitute and orphans and families with disabled members. What can be included in this special assistance?
The graduate approach is a trial and evidence driven approach to the poorest ‘graduation’ out of hyper-poverty, on the premise that these households are provided with any large-scale savings and loan based or specialized multidisciplinary and sequential interventions before engaging in the market. is needed. -oriented livelihood programmes. The program focuses on intensive capture of identified families through motivated and well trained field cadre. This includes consumption grants to provide ‘breathing space’ for the family to learn livelihood activities, a ‘big push’ livelihood grant (either for agriculture, livestock, a small enterprise, or a combination), household level Enterprise planning and development assistance. Access to rights and entitlements, food and nutritional security, access to health and education services, and support to address the unique challenges of the poorest of the poor through specialized institutions. Recently, Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) has started work with PVTGs and other ST/SC communities in 3 districts of Palamu, East Singhbhum and Godda using graduate approach with technical assistance of The/Nudge Institute. The program will be extensively evaluated for impact, effectiveness and sustainability over the next 3 years and subsequently scaled up. Building on these experiences with the ultimate game of ending hyper-poverty in India, will indisputably contribute to India’s journey to become a developed country.
Nita Kejriwal is the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development. The topic was discussed at ‘Discuss 2022’ organized by The/Nudge Institute, a conference of leaders in policy, business and civil society. Mint was the media partner of the event.
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