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sanjeetsparp
June 30th, 2008, 12:38 PM
http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jun/30bribe.htm
June 30, 2008 10:39 IST
Last Updated: June 30, 2008 11:03 IST
The level of corruption is "alarming" in the states of Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, says a new survey based on experience of BPL households in availing various public services last year.

The 'India Corruption Study 2007', brought out by NGOs Transparency International India (TII) and Centre for Media Studies (CMS), found that about one-third of Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in the country bribed officials to avail a total of 11 services -- from police to PDS.

According to the survey, which covered 22,728 households in all states and Union Territories, Rs 883 crore (Rs 8,830 million), in all, was estimated to be paid as bribe by BPL households last year.

The report grouped states into four levels on extent of corruption -- alarming, very high, high and moderate. While five states come into the "alarming" category, the corruption level is "moderate" in states like Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana and West Bengal, the survey found.

Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu fall into the "very high" group, according to the report that took into account corruption experienced by poor families while availing basic services like PDS, hospital, electricity and water supply as also need-based services like land records and registration, housing, banking and police service.

sanjeetsparp
June 30th, 2008, 12:45 PM
Was going through this thread. and stunned to know this ... is figure ko dekh ke legta hai...

Kaya India main sach main Below Poverty Line ka criteria theek hai .... ya assessment ka ..... as jo criteria BPL ka hai international level pe wo hai $1 per capita per day. jo ki neeche hai..... wo dekh ke kaya koi itne bribe de sakta hai kaya???


http://www.wakeupcall.org/administration_in_india/poverty_line.php
No. Earnings of diffrent types of employees in India (Converted into Rs./month)
1. Average cost of employee* in Air-India( Rs. 53,000)
2. Average cost of employee* in MARUTI UDYOG (Rs. 24,000)
3. Average cost of employee* in the MUMBAI MUNICIPAL CORP.(Rs. 16,000)
4. Minimum starting salary in the FIRE Dept. in Mumbai (Rs. 7,000 )
5. Average earning of an Indian - US$ 440 per year or about (This is based on a GDP of US$ 440 billion and 1 billion people) Rs. 1,727
6. Minimum earning required, as per WORLD BANK, to live at above poverty line, for underdeveloped countries like India, China etc, about (US$ 1.0 per day or US$ 30 per month Rs. 1,410)
7. MINIMUM WAGES, as per Government of India, for all the States, about Rs. 40 to 60 per day per person, average about Rs. 50 per day. For 25 days per month Rs. 1,250
8. POVERTY LINE definition, as per Government of India, see below for explanation, at Rs. 10 per day, per person, approx. Rs. 300

Other related & relevant data In millions, people
9. Number of people, in India, who are below poverty line About 300 million (30 Cr.)
10. Number of people, in India, who work in the organized Public Sector, i.e. with the Central and State Governmen About 19 million (1.9 Cr.)
11. Number of people, in India, who work in the organized Private Secto About 8 million (0.8 Cr.)
12. Number of people, in India, who work in the unorganized Sector About 320 million (32 Cr.)
13. Number of people, in India, who are unemployed approximately About 300 million (30 Cr.)
14. Number of JOBS which need to be created every year, to fulfill the aspirations of the people of India About 10 million/yr. (1 Cr.)
15. Number of people BORN every year in India (China is only 10 million per yea About 27 million/yr. (2.7 Cr.)
16. Number of people, in India, who are below 35 years of age About 700 million (70 Cr.)

1. About us
The World Bank's definition of the poverty line**, for under developed countries, like India, is US$ 1/day/person or US $365 per year. As per this definition, more than 75% of all Indians are, probably, below the poverty line!
As per the Government of India, poverty line for the urban areas is Rs. 296 per month and for rural areas Rs. 276 per month, i.e. people in India who earn less than Rs. 10 per day. As per GOI, this amount will buy food equivalent to 2200 calories per day, medically enough, to prevent death. At this level of earning, even in a poor country like India, survival on Rs. 10 per day is a nightmare! This actually translates to Rs. 3650 per year or US $ 75 per year.
On what basis have our planners decided this definition of "Poverty Line"? Does it mean that the person will get enough food to stay alive? How and where is he or she supposed to cook it? What about the minimum needs in education, housing, health services, clothing,and other basic necessities? Are we supposed to live on pavements and sleep under trees from birth till death? YOU BE THE JUDGE!
The minimum wages in India, vary from state to state and city to city, and average Rs. 1000 - 1250/month or Rs. 12,000 - 15,000/yr. Or US $ 250 - US $ 300/yr. India's per capita is US $ 440 per year. (China's is US $ 990).
If India could provide Roads, Electricity, TV's and Telephones in every village, it would improve, education, health, family planning, agriculture, animal husbandry, GDP and reduce migration from vllages to cities.

*Cost of employee = salary & wages + all allowances including housing + perks + retirement benefits.

**1 million = 1,000,000 or 10 lacs. 1 lac = 1,00,000. 1 crore = 10 million = 1,00,00,000.

sanjeetsparp
June 30th, 2008, 02:02 PM
By Mohan Guruswamy And Ronald Joseph Abraham

The poverty line in India measures only the most basic calorie intake, recording not nutrition but only the satiation of hunger. At present the poverty line stands at Rs 368 and Rs 559 per person per month for rural and urban areas, just about enough to buy 650 grams of foodgrains every day. A nutritious diet itself would cost around Rs 573 per capita per month, let alone the cost of securing other basic needs. When such an inclusive measure of poverty is used, as many as 68-84% of Indians would qualify as poor.

The idea of defining poverty in terms of a poverty line was first proposed during the Indian Labour Conference in 1957. A Working Group under the Planning Commission then stipulated a calorie-based poverty line of Rs 20 per person per month. In 1979, a Task Force was assigned by the Planning Commission to reconsider this definition of poverty. After much deliberation, it too fixed a poverty line largely based on calories. It delineated Rs 49 and Rs 57 per person per month as rural and urban poverty lines respectively at 1973 prices. This poverty line continues to be used to this day except for adjustments based on inflation. In 1999-2000, the poverty lines after adjusting for inflation were Rs 327 and Rs 454 in rural and urban areas respectively. As of December 2005, these figures stand at approximately Rs 368 and Rs 559 per person per month for rural and urban areas.

If Vision 2020 of a developed India is to become a reality, a proper definition of poverty is vital. By that time, the State needs to ensure that every citizen not only gets at least two adequate and wholesome meals a day, but also has access to all the basic amenities required to lead a modestly comfortable life with dignity. The present inadequate definition of poverty has ensured that all the policies aimed at alleviating poverty aim much too low by focussing on eliminating hunger rather than eliminating poverty as a whole.

A good example of this is the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which guarantees one able-bodied member of each family work at a wage of Rs 60 a day. Even if this person works on all 30 days of a month, he/she earns only Rs 1,800. For a family of five, that amounts to Rs 360 per person, which is exactly what the rural poverty line is right now. Therefore, even a scheme released with as much fanfare as the NREGS at best only ensures that each person in the family consumes a certain quantity of foodgrains. It guarantees little else. Moreover, the guarantee is only for 100 days in a year, leaving the poor to fend for themselves for the rest of the 265 days.

The present ceiling on poverty is so low that even if the government were to hand out enough money to each poor family to buy enough food to be just above the official poverty line, it would only cost around Rs 570 billion per year. This amount is only 25% of what it costs to maintain the entire bureaucracy of India (around Rs 2,270 billion every year ).

The sad fact remains that despite a conveniently low notion of poverty adopted by the government, one in every four Indians is poor. This is abysmal, but the truth is that the situation is much worse. When we develop a poverty line based on all basic needs, we find that over two-thirds of the Indian population is poverty-stricken.


Read the Full article in the Attachment

sanjeetsparp
June 30th, 2008, 02:09 PM
How can a person accept the Money from these poor people who are on the line of starvation.

Though in India Yellow Ration Card is a symbol of Poor people and many of us know how people get yellow cards.

But those who are really poor, how they manage their bread and butter.

Here are some of the poverty figures from Planning Commission on Poverty as per state level definitions. and the figures on Poverty.

satishsparp
June 30th, 2008, 02:52 PM
Sanjeet I think u have given a good data base...Few comments on it..

Only poor people have to give bribe to access the all kind of services because they do not have any stake in the power and also do not have the awareness about various things ......

Corruption has been institutionalized in our society across the country....We often listen people saying "paisa de ke kam ho jaye to samjhiye imandari se ho gaya" That means we are happy with the system..

Everyday there is one or more procession/ strike regarding Reservation, Bijli, Pani, injustice etc...but we have not seen a single strike or road jam by people of this country against corruption...

...so don’t worry. We are now very much accustomed with corruption and happy with this system......

sidchhikara
July 1st, 2008, 03:27 AM
Poverty stats are the biggest scam pulled by our government.
It is also inhuman because the real numbers might shock some people and they might decide to do something about them which is not happening now.

If the government officially declared that 3/4 people in India are below poverty line, domestic and international press will beat it up, and that will be good for poor.

BTW, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is a complete failure. It is now being called NRCGS - National Rural Corruption Guarantee Scheme.... http://www.deeshaa.org/2005/08/29/the-national-rural-employment-guarantee-scheme/