<div>Seeking to distance himself from latest poverty estimates, Plan panel deputy chief Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday, 29 July said they are based on methodology recommended by an expert group and there is a need to improve it.<br /><br />"The Tendulkar (committee methodology) numbers show about 22 per cent as poor (in the country). I am perfectly willing to agree that, that (poverty) line is a bit low," Ahluwalia said in an interview to NDTV-24X7.<br /><br />About doubts raised within the Congress party against the controversial poverty line, he said, "Kapil (Sibal) has said that the present system is abstract and even we should improve it. Even we agree to that."<br /><br />According to the latest estimates of the Planning Commission, the poverty ratio, or population of poor in the country, declined to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 due to an increase in per capita consumption.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"><strong>Read Also</strong></span><strong>: <a href="http://www.businessworld.in/en/storypage/-/bw/poverty-declines-to-21-9-greater-fall-in-ratio-of-rural-poor/r999187.0/page/0">Poverty Declines To 21.9%, Greater Fall In Ratio Of Rural Poor</a></strong><br /><br />The Commission used the Suresh Tendulkar Committee's methodology, which factors in spending on health and education besides calorie intake to arrive at a poverty line for cities and villages. Accordingly, those whose daily consumption of goods and services exceed Rs 33.33 in cities and Rs 27.20 in villages are not poor.<br /><br />Ahluwalia said, "This is not the Planning Commission's (poverty) line. Poverty line is not drawn by the Planning Commission. It is actually drawn by an expert group. The line you are talking about is a line recommended by the Suresh Tendulkar expert committee."<br /><br />An earlier use of the Tendulkar methodology by the Commission to determine the poverty line had also raked up a controversy.<br /><br />After that, a committee was appointed under Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan to revisit the methodology for tabulating poverty. The Committee is expected to submit its report by mid 2014.<br /><br /> Elaborating on the need to use the Tendulkar Committee methodology again, Ahluwalia said, "It would have been absurd for us, not showing what Tendulkar line was in 2011-12."<br /><br />"It shows that prior to 2004, the decline in poverty was 0.74 percentage point every year. After 2004, it was 2.2 percentage points every year."<br /><br />According to Ahluwalia, since the poverty reduction rate during the United Progressive Alliance's time was three times higher than before, the numbers came under attack from various political parties.<br /><br />"This conclusion that during the UPA period we did a much better job on poverty than in the previous period -- this is the main point that is coming out. That is why, politically, it is being attacked," he said, adding that it is not being attacked because of debate from the level of poverty.<br /><br />"People don't want to recognise that UPA have done three times better than the pre-UPA period in the matter of reducing poverty. Whatever measure you use, the last line here will show a much better rate of improvement than the previous eight years. That is the key issue. That's why people are agitated," he pointed out.<br /><br />Elaborating further, he said the UPA came in 2004 and at that time, the poverty line was very low. It was the UPA that set up the Tendulkar Committee in order to review the position and it opted for a higher poverty line. It had raised the poverty line.<br /><br />According to Ahluwalia, there is a lot of noise about the poverty line because people thought this would be linked to benefits being provided by the government under various programmes.<br /><br />(PTI)</div>
