CPI-M questions methodology of calculating poverty line

New Delhi, Mar 21 (ANI): The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has questioned the present methodology of calculating the poverty line.

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the World Bank used the Human Development Index (HDI) to determine the poverty line in most countries. According the index, 80 percent of India's population lives under the poverty line.

"A realistic poverty estimate, if you want, it has to be on the basis of a holistic index that has been prepared in the world, many countries are following it, it is called the human development index and its on that basis sometime that the World Bank calculates and when the World Bank calculates and it gives a figure which amazes everybody in India that about 80 percent of our people are poor," he said.

"I mean everybody here is shocked but that is the standards by which they have taken. Indeed there is no need to be shocked because that is what my good old friend, late Arjun Sengupta also said, 77 percent of India lives on less than 20 rupees a day," he added.

The Planning Commission released the latest poverty estimates on Monday, saying that poverty in the country has declined by 7.3 percent from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 29.8 percent in 2009-10.

According to the report, the total number of poor in the country has been estimated at 34.47 crore in 2009-10, as against 40.72 crore in 2004-05.

Commenting on union budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Yechury said the proposal to reduce the fiscal deficit by trimming down the subsidies was a fraud.A tax concession is a subsidy, you give the rich subsidies of rupees 5.28 lakh crores, you give the poor subsidies of 2.16 lakh crores and then you say this 2.16 has to be eliminated otherwise you economy will collapse," Yechury added. (ANI)