The causes of poverty lie in the institutional and social factors that mark the life of the poor. The poor are deprived of quality education and unable to acquire skills which fetch better incomes. Also access to health care is denied to the poor. The main victims of caste, religious and other discriminatory practices are poor. These can be caused as a result of (i) social, economic and political inequality (ii) social exclusion (iii) unemployment (iv) indebtedness (v) unequal distribution of wealth. Aggregate poverty is just the sum of individual poverty. Poverty is also explained by general, economy-wide problems, such as low capital formation,  lack of infrastructure, lack of demand, pressure of population (v) lack of social/ welfare nets.

Which of the following is incorrect  in the context of poverty in India?

None of the above

The correct answer is Option 4: None of the above (All the given statements are correct)

In India for the years 1973-2012. In 1973-74, more than 320 million people were below the poverty line. In 2011-12, this number has come down to about 270 million. In terms of proportion, in 1973-74, about 55 per cent of the total population was below the poverty line. In 2011-12, it has fallen to 22 per cent. In 1973-74, more than 80 per cent of the poor resided in rural areas and this situation has not changed even in 2011-12. This means that more than three-fourth of the poor in India still reside in villages.