Rishab Aiyer Ghosh wrote: [ on 02:37 PM 9/27/2007 ]
i think the figures show that absolute numbers of people living in
poverty (whatever the definition) have reduced over the past 20 years,
and furthermore the absolute inflation-adjusted incomes have increased
for almost all income groups of the indian population.
Some interesting data from McKinsey on this (BTW,
I love how context changes everything. Thus, 7.3%
GDP growth for India is now considered "modest"):
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Economic_Studies/Country_Reports/Securing_Indias_place_in_the_global_economy
Most important, the benefits of reform have
reached a broad constituency. Since 1985 India
has lifted more than 100 million people out of
desperate poverty in urban centers and the
hinterland alike, according to research by the
McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).[3] Indias
population grew by 352 million during this
period, and 431 million fewer people live in
desperate poverty today than would have if it had
remained at the 1985 level. Looking forward, MGI
estimates that if GDP grows by a modest 7.3
percent a year over the next two decades, the
countrys poorest people will continue to gain
ground, so that the deprived segmentthose making
less than 90,000 rupees annually, about a dollar
per person a daywill drop from 54 percent of the
population in 2005 to 22 percent by 2025.
--
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
