About 60% of people in rural India live on 70 US cents a day

Nuclear capability, long range missiles, space missions and spy satellites, India has many modern achievements to show off, but when it comes to improving the lives of its people it has failed miserably. About 60 per cent of the people in rural India live on 70US cents a day, while in cities the figure is US$ 1.30. Significantly more than half of all their income is spent on food as their average monthly consumption cereals, the basic indicator of measuring poverty in India, is only around 10 kilograms. The latest statistics released by India’s National Sample Survey Organisation revel that despite many new public welfare schemes launched by the central and state governments the poverty eradication is still a long way off. Although in March, India’s Planning Commission said that only 29.8 per cent of the population or 355 million people live below the poverty line, which showed a significant decline from the 2005 figure of 37.2 per cent or 407 million people, the definition of poverty line itself has been disputed. The new figure is based on counting the poor people who live on US Cents 40 in the villages and US Cent 60 in the cities, which is considered as too low by many economists and social workers. The Survey, which was carried out between July 2009 and June 2010 also reveals that 10 per cent of the population, or 120 million people live under absolute poverty with only 30 to 40 US cents a day. The survey also reveals that there has been no change in the demographics and the social character of the poor people. Mostly they are still the village farm workers, casual labours in cities, tribal people, lower caste Hindus and Muslims. While some states may be a bit better off than the others analysts say despite all talk of growth and prosperity of a shining India, things are not as rosy as there are massive public distribution issues, bureaucratic red tape, corruption at every level and reports of pilferage and losses due to carelessness of government staff and political interference at various stages as the poor and the needy fight for their survival. Observers say it is time something is seriously done ,as on the one hand a majority of Indian's still live in absolute poverty while on the other there are reports of Indian's illegally stashing away millions of dollars in foreign banks and continue to evade taxes.