Bpl Below Poverty Line

Below Poverty Line is referred to as BPL. The Indian government established a benchmark for economic performance to identify those households and those people that require help the most. It speaks of a minimum income. People are deemed poor or living below the poverty line if their income falls below this threshold. The government implements several programs to provide the BPL population's fundamental requirements for food, shelter, and clothing.

The Variables that Define BPL

  1. Type of residence 

  2. Status of children

  3. Consumer products

  4. Food safety

  5. Clothing

  6. literacy

  7. Land ownership

  8. Sanitation, etc.

Income Determines what the Poverty Line is in India

The poverty threshold was initially established in 2000 and was considered on the basis of both needs for food and money. On a FOOD basis, adults should consume 2100 calories per day in urban regions and 2400 calories per day in rural ones. The cost of the grains that match this normative standard (approximately 650 g) was then calculated. This cost was the poverty line. In 1978, it was Rs. 61.80 for rural areas and Rs. 71.30 for urban areas per person per month. Since then, the Planning Commission has set the poverty level annually after considering inflation.

Background of BPL (Below Poverty Line)

Except for state-funded healthcare and education, the planning commission task force estimated a minimal expenditure essential to living at ₹20 per individual in the rural area and ₹25 per individual in urban regions in 1962.

The criteria for the lower BPL level was further amended after the 1970s and is now the daily minimum income of Rs. 49.1 for rural areas and Rs. 56.7 for urban areas, respectively.

Analysing the inter-state price differentials, a panel of experts carved the benchmarked aggregated poverty rate into separate state-level poverty rates in 1993.  

The poverty line of rural areas in the year 2012 was- ₹972 & the same for the urban area was- ₹1407. In that year, it was estimated that 29.5% of Indians were below the poverty line.

Four hundred fifty-four million people, or 38% of the population, were estimated by the Rangarajan Panel to be living in extreme poverty in the nation in 2014.

 

What are the Characteristics of BPL?

The $1.90 per day benchmark for living below the poverty line is set by the World Bank. However, India initially utilized a sustaining food standard to establish the poverty line before switching to an individual's spending over a set period for a basket of necessities. This basket of goods included food, transportation, clothing, rent, fuel, power, and education.

Advantages of BPL Card

To correctly identify these families and provide them with financial and non-financial assistance for their support and upliftment, the government gives BPL cards to families below the poverty line.

The government assists this group of people through specific grants, scholarships, and reservations in government positions and educational institutions. Additionally, it runs several income-generating initiatives to train people in entrepreneurship through financial institutions.

Other Initiatives Include

  • the National Rural Health Mission,

  • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),

  • National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA), and

  • Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).

Children from low-income families can access education through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, people living in rural areas can access healthcare through National Health Rural Mission, and people in economically disadvantaged groups can obtain 100 days of guaranteed employment through National Rural Employment Guarantee. In addition, people living below the poverty level are given access to health insurance through RSBY. BPL families are also given food at discounted prices by the government.



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