Unemployment & Poverty

Unemployment Persontage in india
Sep. 2025

• Overall 5.2%

• Rural 4.6%

• Urban 6.8%

Unemployment Types

1. Structural Unemployment
2. Cyclic Unemployment
3. Frictional Unemployment
4. Under Employment
5. Disguised Employment
6. Open Unemployment
7. Seasonal Unemployment

Structural Unemployment

Happens when skills of workers don’t match the jobs available

• Caused by technology change / industry shifts

Cyclic Unemployment

Happens when economy slows down or during recession

• Jobs return when economic cycle improves

Frictional Unemployment

Temporary unemployment when people are switching jobs

• Always exists in every economy

Under Employment

Person has a job but not fully using skills / working below capacity

• Like an engineer working as a shop helper

Disguised Unemployment

Extra people working but not adding any productivity

• Common in agriculture with surplus labor

Open Unemployment

People ready to work but have no job at all

• Visible & measurable unemployment

Seasonal Unemployment

People get work only in certain seasons (like agriculture)

• No job during the off-season

Who was the first person who talked about the concept of poverty line before independence?

Dadabhai Naoroji

• Used jail cost of living formula to calculate the poverty line
• His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britian

The Task Force on Projections of Minimum Needs and Effective Consumption Demand
constituted by

The Planning Commission in 1979

• attempted to measure poverty

The data of poverty in India is collected by

The NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization)

• and it is analyzed and published by the CSO (Central Statistical Organization)

What percentage of the population below the poverty line in india

21.9%

• Not Updated since 2011-12
• Based on the Tendulkar methodology
• 11.28% in 2022-23 (According to NITI)

Consumption Expenditure Method (Tendulkar methodology) 2011-12

• Highest Percentage of Poverty - Chattisgarh 39.9%, Bihar 33.7%
• Lowest Percentage of Poverty - Goa 5.09%, Kerela 7.05%

Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) By NITI Aayog 2022-23

• Highest Percentage of Poverty - Bihar 26.59%, Chhattisgarh 11.71%
• Lowest Percentage of Poverty - Kerela 0.55%, 0% Said to be in 2025

Relative Poverty

Poverty of people relative to other people, regions or country

• In India relative poverty is calculated with the help of Lorenz Curve and Gini Coefficient

Absolute Poverty

Total number of people living below the poverty linendia absolute poverty is calculated on the basis of two things -

• Calories Intake
• Household Income(Head Count Ratio)

Calorie Intake To Calculate Poverty

• 2,400 calories/day for rural areas
• 2,100/day for people in urban areas

Other Index to Calculate Poverty

• Sen Index (by Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen)
• Poverty Gap Index, and
• Squared Poverty Gap

Household Income To Calculate Poverty

• 31 Rs per day for rural area
• 47 Rs per day for urban area

Head Count Ratio

• Head Count Ratio = Number of Poor People ÷Total Population

Poverty percentage in india

• 1973-74 - 320 million
• 2011-12 - 270 million

Three major programs have been launched to improve the nutritional status of the
poor

• Public Distribution System
• Integrated Child Development Scheme
• Midday Meal Scheme

Programs for the better of the people in rural areas

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
• Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana
• Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana