NCERT Book Class 9 Social Science (Economics) Chapter 3 Poverty as a Challenge

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Chapter Poverty as a Challenge

Overview dhabas. They could also be beggars with
This chapter deals with one of the most children in tatters. We see poverty all
difficult challenges faced by independent around us. In fact, every fifth person in
India—poverty. After discussing this India is poor. (This means, roughly 270
multi-dimensional problem through million (or 27 crore) people in India live
examples, the chapter discusses the way in poverty 2011-12.) This also means that
poverty is seen in social sciences. Poverty India has the largest single concentration
trends in India and the world are of the poor in the world. This illustrates
illustrated through the concept of the the seriousness of the challenge.
poverty line. Causes of poverty as well as
anti-poverty measures taken by the Two Typical Cases of Poverty
government are also discussed. The
chapter ends with broadening the official Urban Case
concept of poverty into human poverty. Thirty-three year old Ram Saran works
as a daily-wage labourer in a wheat
Introduction flour mill near Ranchi in Jharkhand.
In our daily life, we come across many He manages to earn around Rs 1,500
people who we think are poor. They could a month when he finds employment,
be landless labourers in villages or people which is not often. The money is not
living in overcrowded jhuggis in cities. They enough to sustain his family of six—
could be daily wage workers at that includes his wife and four children
construction sites or child workers in aged between 12 years to six months.

Picture 3.1 Story of Ram Saran
Poverty as a Challenge 29