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    Indian Society notes for UPSC GS I: salient features and diversity, caste and social change, women, population and ageing, urbanisation and family, globalisation, communalism, secularism, poverty and social empowerment.

    Indian Society

    GS I: diversity, caste, women, population, urbanisation, globalisation, communalism and secularism

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    Salient Features and Diversity of Indian Society

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    2

    Women, Population and Family

    3 topics

    3

    Globalisation, Communalism and Secularism

    3 topics

    4

    Poverty and Social Empowerment

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    Chapter 4: Poverty and Social Empowerment

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    Poverty, Development and Social Empowerment

    Key Point

    The GS I syllabus links poverty and developmental issues with social empowerment. Poverty is not only low income but also deprivation in health, education and living standards—captured by the Multidimensional Poverty Index. NITI Aayog estimated that about 24.8 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty between 2013-14 and 2022-23. Social empowerment means enabling marginalised groups—SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, women, persons with disabilities, transgender persons—to claim rights, dignity and voice.

    The GS I syllabus links poverty and developmental issues with social empowerment. Poverty is not only low income but also deprivation in health, education and living standards—captured by the Multidimensional Poverty Index. NITI Aayog estimated that about 24.8 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty between 2013-14 and 2022-23. Social empowerment means enabling marginalised groups—SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, women, persons with disabilities, transgender persons—to claim rights, dignity and voice.

    Detailed Notes (17 points)
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    1. Understanding Poverty
    Income poverty: Measured against a poverty line (Tendulkar, Rangarajan committees).
    Multidimensional poverty: Health (nutrition, child mortality), education (schooling, attendance) and living standards (cooking fuel, sanitation, water, electricity, housing, assets, bank account).
    Capability approach (Amartya Sen): Poverty as lack of freedom to live the life one values.
    2. Social Dimensions of Poverty
    Concentration among SCs, STs, landless labourers, informal workers, female-headed households and in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
    Intergenerational transmission through malnutrition, poor schooling and discrimination.
    3. Developmental Issues
    Displacement by development projects (dams, mines) affecting tribals; uneven regional growth; jobless growth; urban poverty; environmental degradation hurting the poor most.
    4. Social Empowerment: Meaning and Tools
    Meaning: Moving from dependence to agency—access to resources, rights, participation and dignity.
    Tools: Reservations in education, jobs and legislatures; SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016; Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019; PESA Act, 1996 and Forest Rights Act, 2006; scholarships; SHGs; Stand-Up India.
    Political empowerment: Reservation in panchayats and legislatures.
    5. Limits of Formal Equality
    Legal rights do not automatically translate into empowerment because of social prejudice, lack of awareness, weak enforcement and economic dependence; empowerment needs education, assets and collective organisation.
    6. Way Forward
    Universal basic services (health, education, nutrition), livelihoods and skills, asset creation (land, housing), social security for informal workers, and participatory development.

    Laws for social empowerment

    GroupKey law/measure
    Scheduled Castes and TribesSC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; reservations
    Tribal communitiesPESA Act, 1996; Forest Rights Act, 2006
    Persons with disabilitiesRPwD Act, 2016 (21 disabilities, 4% job reservation)
    Transgender personsTransgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
    WomenPanchayat reservation; 106th Amendment

    Fun Facts

    Amartya Sen won the Nobel in Economics in 1998 for work on welfare economics and famines.

    Dadabhai Naoroji made one of the earliest estimates of India's per capita income in the 1860s–70s.

    Kerala has the lowest multidimensional poverty among Indian states.

    Mains Key Points

    Poverty reduction requires growth plus redistribution plus social investment; growth alone is insufficient.
    Multidimensional measures show progress in basic services but reveal persistent gaps in nutrition and schooling quality.
    Formal legal equality does not ensure empowerment without economic independence, awareness and collective voice.
    Development must avoid creating new poverty through displacement; free, prior and informed consent and fair rehabilitation are essential.

    Prelims Strategy Tips

    Global MPI is published by UNDP and OPHI; India's national MPI by NITI Aayog.
    RPwD Act 2016 recognises 21 disabilities and provides 4% reservation in government jobs.
    NALSA v. Union of India (2014) recognised transgender persons as the 'third gender'.
    PESA (1996) extends Panchayati Raj to Fifth Schedule areas.
    Amartya Sen developed the capability approach.

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