Lakdawala Committee

The Lakdawala Committee is an Indian Committee founded in 1993 by Professor D T Lakdawala which was an expert group that set the poverty line in India. This committee's recommendations were based mainly on a plan that included a cereal-based diet consisting of rice and dal and also meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and fruits which are considered to be healthy.

What is Poverty?

Poverty is an economic or social condition of lack of food, shelter, clothing, and other basic necessities which make the basis for life. Poverty is a situation in which someone lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.

How to Measure Poverty?

There should be parameters that can measure poverty so that there will not be any difference in the poverty line in each country. There are mainly two levels at which poverty can be measured. These are:

National level

It deals with the entire country and to calculate it, the entire country is taken into consideration. It takes into account the economic conditions of a country as a whole. Some parameters on which the national poverty line is calculated are:

1. Per capita income of the nation
2. Price indexation for commodities and services
3. Food requirements for each individual on a daily basis
4. Poverty Gap Ratio (PGR) and HeadCount Ratio (HCR) are also used frequently for measuring poverty at the national level

Individual Level

At this level, there are parameters that give a clear picture of how poor specific individuals or families are who live in a certain place such as an area, district, etc.

Lakdawala Committee Recommendations - Poverty Measurement Parameters

Through the help of Lakdawala Committee recommendations, poverty in India was measured. These are some parameters on which this committee based their recommendations:

1. Food Requirements for each individual on a daily basis.
2. Cost of food basket recommended by them, especially for rural areas with high nutrition levels.
3. Poverty Gap Ratio (PGR) and HeadCount Ratio (HCR) are also used frequently for measuring poverty at the national level.

A person who has reached the poverty line should be entitled to 1200 calories (2400 calories) per day and there should be a food subsidy for 5.6 years.

Therefore, these are some of the most common ways of measuring poverty in India, but there are many more.

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Causes of Poverty

There are different causes that make a person or family poor. Some of them are as follows:

Natural Disasters: Natural disasters such as floods and droughts can cause a lot of damage to the crops which would make the farmers poverty-stricken. These problems can be solved with government help which is not always possible.

Corruption: Corruption is sometimes so rampant in developing countries where people in power will steal from public money and deposit it in foreign currency accounts. Due to this, local development work fails to materialise back home resulting in poverty.

Limited Access: In some countries, people don't get a proper education or health facilities because there are no such resources available to them. They have to travel far away to get such facilities and that trip can drain them financially and emotionally so they end up being poor.

Significance of the Lakdawala Committee

In 1993 the Central Government of India appointed a committee by the name Lakdawala Committee. Professor D T Lakdawala was appointed as the lone member of this committee. The main task of this committee was to set a poverty line in India so that anyone who is above it can afford a 2100 and 2400 calories diet daily.

The reason why a specific level or range of calorie consumption was fixed for measuring poverty was that it was believed that a healthy life can only be led by having a sufficient amount of food, which led to the first target being set at 2100 calories per person per day and then later 2400 calories.

The significance of the Lakdawala Committee is that it united the private sector with the Government to find solutions to poverty in India. The relationship between these two institutions had never been very good because there was a doubt over how the private sector could operate such a large government organisation. However, they jointly decided on the amount of food to be fed to poor people at a fixed price and this was considered successful as it provided healthy food and also made sure that the money given by the government was utilised appropriately.

FAQs on Lakdawala Committee

Q1: What was the objective of the Lakdawala Committee?

The objective of the Lakdawala Committee was to create a poverty line that cost 2400 calories per person per day and anyone above that line could afford it.

Q2: How did the Lakdawala Committee work to achieve its goal?

The main aim of the Lakdawala Committee was to establish a poverty line in India so that anyone who is above it can afford a 2100 and 2400 calories diet daily. To achieve its goal, they took into consideration the food requirements of an individual on a daily basis, the cost of the basket that is recommended by them, especially in rural areas and two parameters PGR (Poverty gap ratio) and HCR (Headcount ratio).

Q3: Where was the Lakdawala Committee recommendations poverty line set?

The Lakdawala Committee recommendations poverty line was set at 2400 calories for urban and 2100 calories for rural areas.

Q4: How are Lakdawala Committee recommendations for poverty measured in India?

Through the help of Lakdawala Committee recommendations, poverty in India was measured. There are a few parameters on which the poverty line is calculated.

Some of them are as follows: Food requirements for each individual on a daily basis, cost of food basket recommended by them, especially for rural areas, PGR and HCR are also used frequently for measuring poverty at the national level.