The author says that India has the opportunity to erase poverty within the coming generation.
Tens of millions
of Indians have come out of the
poverty trap in the past decade. But in absolute terms, poverty is still a harsh reality as if affects over two hundred and fifty million people. Put another way, every fourth poor person in the world is an Indian!
The author says that mere numbers do not tell the whole tale; it is also about all those people living on the margins of society. It is about inadequate livelihoods and unproductive lands; and it is about widespread inequality.
India’s strength is its human capital. The author says that removing productivity will enable a quarter of our population to become economically productive. The advantage of the demographic dividend – the large percentage of our population that is young and productive – will be lost if such large numbers remain outside the economic mainstream.
What must be done to remove poverty in the coming decades? The author says that our current approach is focused on spending more and more money. The author says that it is more important that the money should be well spent. In other words, the need of the hour is accountability and improved governance. But all this will not succeed, unless the poor are empowered to take control of their lives. The author has another suggestion to make – best practices (such as women’s self-help groups, Bhagidari, and milk cooperatives) must be spread throughout the nation.