Describe poverty trends in India since 1973.
As per the data, there is a substantial decline in poverty ratio in India from 55 percent in 1973 to 36 percent in 1993. There was further decline from 36 percent in 1993 to 26 percent in 2000. Although the number of poor people remained stable (about 320 million) in the earlier two decades (1973 to 1993), there was significant reduction in the number of the poor to about 260 million till 2000. It may also be noted that poverty ratio always remained higher in rural areas compared to urban areas.If the present trend continues, the people below poverty line may come down to less than 20 percent in the next few years.
