Why is the minimum amount fixed for estimating the poverty line higher in urban areas than in rural areas?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Essential products cost more in urban areas.
The poverty line is the money a person needs to buy the minimum food and other necessities. City people need fewer calories than village people, yet the urban poverty line is set higher because many essential products are more expensive in urban areas.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (2) More food grains are produced in urban areas. — Incorrect. Food grains are grown in villages, not in cities.
Option (3) People do more physical work in urban areas, so they consume more. — Incorrect. It is the other way round: rural people do more physical work, so their calorie need is higher.
Option (4) All of the above — Incorrect. Options (2) and (3) are false.