Poverty means a condition where a person or family does not have enough resources to meet basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and education. It is not just about lack of money, but also about lack of opportunities, security, and dignity. Eradicating poverty is a global human right and one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Different reports and surveys (NITI Aayog, Oxfam, World Bank, UN, Pew Research, etc.) give important insights into the status of poverty in India and the world. Poverty is not just about money but has multiple dimensions like capability, social inclusion, and participation.

Poverty can be understood in different forms such as absolute, relative, environmental, and collective poverty. Beyond income, it includes lack of capabilities, resources, and access to essentials. Poverty is also classified into groups like chronic poor, churning poor, and occasionally poor, based on duration and intensity.

Poverty is measured using a 'Poverty Line', which separates poor from non-poor based on minimum income or consumption required to meet basic needs. It includes different levels of poverty and wealth, and uses indicators like Head Count Ratio, Poverty Gap, and Misery Index.

The process of poverty estimation in India is about finding out how many people are poor and where the poverty line should be fixed. Over the years, different experts and committees have suggested different ways to define the poverty line – some focused on minimum calories required to survive, while later committees focused on total household spending on food, health, and education. Today, poverty estimation uses consumption expenditure surveys and multidimensional poverty indicators.

Measuring poverty is complex because poverty is not only about income but also about lack of opportunities, insecurity, and poor living conditions. Different types of poverty, hidden emotional aspects, resource-heavy surveys, and political influence make accurate measurement difficult.

Traditional poverty measures focused only on income, but multidimensional poverty goes beyond money. It includes health, education, housing, sanitation, electricity, and access to services. This approach provides a more complete picture of poverty and helps policymakers target different areas of deprivation.

The Global MPI, developed in 2010 by Oxford’s OPHI and UNDP, measures poverty not only by money but also by deprivations in health, education, and living conditions. It has 10 indicators and gives a score between 0 (no poverty) and 1 (highest poverty). India has made remarkable progress, with millions of people moving out of multidimensional poverty in recent years.

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2024 highlights that 1.1 billion people (18% of global population) live in acute poverty, with India having the largest share at 234 million. India has also developed its own National MPI through NITI Aayog, adding two extra indicators (Maternal Health and Bank Account) to reflect national priorities. Despite progress, poverty persists in India due to overpopulation, agricultural challenges, corruption, social inequalities, poor healthcare, weak infrastructure, and natural disasters.

Poverty has serious consequences such as child labour, terrorism, crime, lack of education, and forced migration. It can also create a 'poverty trap', where people cannot escape poverty due to lack of resources and opportunities. To address these issues, governments and institutions launch poverty alleviation programs.

Feminisation of poverty refers to the growing share of women among the poor due to gender inequalities. Women face restricted access to resources, opportunities, and rights, resulting in low income, unpaid work, and higher vulnerability to poverty.

Inequality refers to the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of income, wealth, and opportunities. While some inequality can encourage growth, extreme inequality slows down development, reduces social mobility, and causes instability.

The Lorenz Curve is a graphical representation of income or wealth inequality. It compares the cumulative share of income/wealth with the cumulative share of the population. The greater the deviation from the line of equality, the higher the inequality.

The Gini Coefficient is a statistical measure of income or wealth inequality, ranging between 0 (perfect equality) and 1 (perfect inequality). It is widely used for comparing inequality across countries and time periods.

Besides the Gini coefficient, inequality can be measured using indices such as the Theil Index, Palma Ratio, Kuznets Ratio, and Hoover Index. Each provides a different perspective on income and wealth distribution.

The Atkinson Index, developed by Anthony Atkinson, measures inequality with sensitivity to different parts of the income distribution. In India, inequality has been rising sharply since the 1980s, with the top 1% controlling a large share of income and wealth. Reports from World Inequality Lab, Forbes, Oxfam, and SBI highlight the persistence of high inequality despite growth.

Inequality in India is shaped by unemployment, inflation, weak tax systems, agrarian disparities, gender gaps, and global shocks. It results in social conflicts, poor development indicators, and weak public services. While steps like progressive taxation, social security, and digital inclusion have been taken, stronger reforms in wages, education, health, and wealth taxation are needed.

Hunger means food deprivation – consuming less than 1,800 calories a day. Malnutrition includes both undernutrition (too little food/nutrients) and overnutrition (too much unhealthy food). According to UN reports, more than 1 billion Indians cannot afford a healthy diet, and India ranks poorly on global hunger indices. The government, however, disputes some international findings, arguing they are based on weak data.

Hunger can be acute (sudden and severe), chronic (long-term undernourishment), or hidden (lack of essential vitamins and minerals). In India, hunger is caused not by lack of food production but by poverty, leakages, wastage, social inequality, poor sanitation, climate change, and weak safety nets.

Climate change worsens hunger and food insecurity by damaging crops, reducing nutritional quality, and increasing food prices. Extreme weather, sea level rise, water scarcity, and higher temperatures threaten both food availability and food safety. This results in malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and stunted growth among vulnerable populations.

Malnutrition means poor nutrition – it can be due to not eating enough (calorie or protein hunger), eating the wrong kind of food, or lacking essential vitamins and minerals (micronutrient deficiency). In India, malnutrition persists despite surplus food production, due to poor distribution, weak schemes, and social inequalities.

Hunger leads to serious consequences such as micronutrient deficiencies, poor child health (stunting, wasting, zero-food children), weakened immunity, and long-term economic losses. It creates an intergenerational cycle where malnourished mothers give birth to undernourished children, deepening poverty.

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is an international tool that measures hunger levels in countries based on four indicators: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality. In 2024, India ranked 105th out of 127 countries with a score of 27.3, which places it in the 'serious hunger' category. Hunger is closely linked to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), where India has made progress in food production and coverage under NFSA but still struggles with malnutrition.

Hunger in India is not just about food shortage, but also about access, nutrition, and affordability. The government, civil society, and global organisations have introduced programmes like PDS, NFSA 2013, ICDS, Mid-Day Meal, and the World Food Programme. NITI Aayog has also proposed strategies to improve nutrition. These steps aim to ensure that no person sleeps hungry and every citizen gets a balanced and nutritious diet.