In common parlance 'Poverty' is the state of being without, often associated with need, hardship & lack of resources across a wide range of circumstances. For some. poverty is a subjective & comparative term; for others, it is moral and evaluative; and for others. scientifically established.

Planning Commission of India defines Poverty on the basis of Calorie consumption vis:

• 2400 calories per person per day in Rural areas.
• 2100 calories per person per day in Urban areas.

Less than it means persons are under poverty.

Monetary Yardsticks to measure the Poverty:

• Rs. 368 per person per month consumption or income in Rural areas.
• Rs. 559 per person per month consumption or income in Urban areas.

Poverty Ratio :

• Punjab Government is making efforts to eradicate poverty and generate income & employment in State. As per the latest poverty estimates for 2011-12 prepared by Expert Group constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan, percentage of population below poverty line came down to 11.3 % (Rural- 7.4% & Urban- 17.6% ) in Punjab vis-a-vis 29.5 % in India.
• It shows that Punjab is marching much ahead of nation in tackling the problem of poverty and is at second place among major States followed by Himachal Pradesh which has only 10.9% people living below poverty line.

Average Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) :

• Average Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) calculated by National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) is widely used to compare the consumption level in different states. According to 68th round of NSSO which was conducted during 2011-12, Average Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) in Punjab is much better than country as whole as well as most of the major states of the country. Average MPCE of Rural Punjab is Rs. 2345, which is significantly higher than the national average of Rs. 1430 and was second highest among major states after Kerala (Rs. 2669).
• In urban area average MPCE in Punjab was Rs. 2794 whereas at national level it was Rs. 2630. Ranking of Punjab at second place in rural areas after Kerala and the 5th place in urban areas proves that there is lesser income inequality between rural and urban areas in Punjab and the standard of living of rural Punjab is much better as compared to other state's rural areas.

Poverty Alleviation Programmes :

Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) :

• Govt. of India had passed Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in September, 2005. MGNREGA scheme is being implemented in all the districts of Punjab State w.e.f.1-4- 2008. The objective of the scheme is to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Swaran Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) :

• It is an initiative launched by the Government of India as an integrated programme for self-employment of the rural poor. The scheme was launched on April 1, 1999. The SGSY aims at providing self-employment to villagers through the establishment of Self-help groups. Activity clusters are established based on the aptitude and skill of the people which are nurtured to their maximum potential. Funds are provided by NGOs, banks and financial institutions.

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) :

• It is one of the world's largest poverty reduction initiatives. NRLM is the restructured version of Swaran Jyanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SJGSY), launched recently in 2011 by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, to bring the poorest of the poor above the poverty line by ensuring livelihood opportunities to them. The mission aims to ensure that at least one member from each rural poor household, preferably a woman- is brought under SHGs network in a time bound manner and impart special training to them. After the completion of training, the SHGs will be tied up with the market links and bank loans so that the products are sold and a regular income is ensured to the members. Investing in the financial literacy and business planning is the core activity of SHGs formation.
• State Govt. has initiated the process of implementation of NRLM in the state by establishing State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) Society at the State level. The governing body and executive committee have also been formed by the Govt. which will guide the society to perform various activities under the program. As per the guidelines of NRLM, every state has to prepare Initial Annual Action Plan and submit the same to Ministry of Rural Development, Govt of India to start the pilot project. SRLM Punjab has prepared Initial Annual Action Plan for 14 blocks in 6 districts of Punjab. These districts are Tarn Taran (Khadoor Sahib, Valtoha and Chohla Sahib), Gurdaspur (Dhariwal and Dera Baba Nanak), Patiala (Rajpura, Sanaur and Patran), Sangrur (Sunam, Sangrur and Lehragaga) and Ferozepur (Guru Har-Sahai), Fazilka (Fazilka and Jalalabad).

Indira Awaas Yojana:

• With a view to meeting the housing needs of the rural poor, Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) was launched in May 1985 as a sub-scheme of Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. It is being implemented as an independent scheme since 1 January 1996. The Indira Awaas Yojana aims at helping rural people below the poverty-line (BPL) belonging to SCs/STs, free bonded labourers and non-SC/ST categories in construction of dwelling units and up gradation of existing unserviceable kutcha houses by providing assistance in the form of full grant. From 1995-96, the IAY benefits have been extended to widows or next-of-kin of defence personnel killed in action. Benefits have also been extended to ex-servicemen and retired members of the paramilitary forces as long as they fulfill the normal eligibility conditions of Indira Awaas Yojana. IAY funds are also being earmarked for minorities. Indira Awaas Yojana is a centrally Sponsored Scheme on 75:25 basis.

Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) now called Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) (60:40) :

• During the year 2015-16, Govt. of India has renamed the Scheme as Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) .Govt. of India has sanctioned 67 projects till 31.12.2017 for Punjab State to treat 3,14,686 hectares of land with a total cost of Rs. 37,762.00 lacs. From the year 2009-10 to 2017-18( upto 31.12.2017), Govt. of India has released Rs. 8430.42 lacs out of which an amount of Rs. 7007.95 lacs have been utilized on various projects and 58400 hectares of land has been treated.

National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) :

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), Government of India has launched National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), w.e.f 01.04.2014, which replaced the existing Swaran Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yozana (SJSRY) in the 12th Five Year Plan. NULM will be implemented in all the cities with the population of 1 lac or more and in all district head quarters/towns irrespective of the population even it is less than 1 lac population as per census 2011.The primary target of NULM is the urban poor including urban homeless.
• During the year 2016-17, State of Punjab released Rs.448.01 lacs as State Share for the year 2012-13 on 01.10.2016 with the opening balance of Rs. 2062.34 lac and interest received of Rs.76.86 lacs and funds transferred from other Account 10.23 lac i.e totaling Rs.2597.44 lacs and Rs.215.58 lac were released for the construction of Night Shelter under SUH Component, Rs.8.64 lac was released to Municipal Corporation Amritsar for refurbishment, Rs.86.04 lac were released for O&M expenditure of Night Shelters, Rs.152.30 lac were released to ULBs for revolving fund, Rs.318.61 lac were released to training institutes for pending payment of SJSRY, Rs.600.00 lac as advance to Punjab Skill Development Mission, Rs. 4.81 lac as interest subsidy and advance for advertisement & munyadi expenditure & Rs.6.19 lac were released to Prasar Bharti (BCI) AIR as Broadcasting fee i.e totaling of Rs. 1392.17 lacs.

Swaran Jayanti Shehari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) :

• This scheme was launched by Government of India to alleviate the index of poverty in the Urban areas. The scheme has five components; (1) Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP), (2) Urban Women Self Help Programme (UWSP), (3) Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor (STEP-UP), (4) Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP) and (5) Urban Community Development Network (UCDN).
• Now, w.e.f April 2014, SJSRY has been replaced with National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM). NULM will cover all the cities with population of one lac or more besides all district head quarter town/cities as per census 2011.

The Punjab Backward Classes Land Development and Finance Corporation (BACKFINCO) :

• The Punjab Backward Classes Land Development and Finance Corporation provide loans to Backward Classes and Minorities. The Corporation provides loans to beneficiaries of Backward Classes whose annual family income is less than Rs. 98,000/- in the rural areas and Rs. 1,20,000/- in urban areas and Minority Communities whose annual family income is less than Rs. 81,000/- in the rural areas and Rs. 1,03,000/- in urban areas. Under NMDFC scheme new annual family income eligibility criteria has been introduced with the objective of increasing the coverage of minority beneficiaries with higher family income of upto 6.00 lacs per annum as prescribed by National Corporation. However preference shall be given to persons living below poverty line. The Corporation provided loans amounting to Rs. 823.80 lacs to 498 beneficiaries during the year 2016-17. During2017-18 upto (30-9-17) disbursement of Rs. 317.08 lakhs is made to 182 beneficiaries.

The Punjab Scheduled Castes and Land Development and Finance Corporation (PSCFC) :

• The aim of the Corporation is to provide loan and subsidy to poor scheduled caste population. Corporation provided loans amounting to Rs 797.48 Lakhs to 1162 beneficiaries during the year 2016-17 and no amount disbursed to any beneficiaries during the current financial year 2017-18 (upto 30.09.2017) due to non receipt of funds .

Conclusion :

• Punjab has tackled the problem of poverty in more effective manner than other states. As per the latest estimates the state has only 11.3% population living below poverty line as compared to 29.5% at national level. Although Punjab has highest number of socially under privileged population yet it has lowest percentage of population living below poverty line. However within state various sections of the society are still deprived and under privileged.
• As per the results of SECC-2011 (Socio-Economic and Caste Census) survey released recently Punjab has still a sizeable proportion of socially underprivileged population. It revealed that over one third (36.74%) of rural population belongs to Scheduled Castes. In addition to it, there is a large number of people of backward classes living in the state. There are 39 castes notified as Scheduled Castes and 69 Backward Castes in the State. The percentage further increases if a large number of migratory labour coming to State every year is added to it. Most of these sections are still deprived of ownership of assets and access to basic social infrastructure. In addition to it, the state has certain locational and topographical disadvantageous areas leading to higher cost of cultivation & living which ultimately results in economic distress and indebtedness. Following areas fall in this category.