
Organizer: Foundation for Agrarian Studies, in collaboration with Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS)
About the Session
- When: Wednesday, December 18, 2024
- Time: 3 pm IST onwards
- Free Registration
- Platform: Zoom Meet
The release of the Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey 2022–23 (HCES 2022–23) by the Government of India has reignited discussions on poverty in India. While initial reports suggested poverty levels had dropped to around 10%, a recent article in the Review of Agrarian Studies finds that over a quarter of India’s population is below the poverty line. Titled “Poverty in India: The Rangarajan Method and the 2022–23 Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey,” the study uses the Rangarajan Committee’s methodology (2012) to estimate a 2023 poverty headcount ratio of 26.4%. This finding significantly reframes the poverty discourse in India.
The panel will feature esteemed experts: Gaurav Datt, Associate Professor at the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability, Monash University; Himanshu, Associate Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University; P.C. Mohanan, Chairman of the Kerala State Statistical Commission; and R. Ramakumar, Professor at the School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The authors of the research article, Sethu C. A., Senior Research Assistant, Foundation for Agrarian Studies; Abhinav Surya L. T., PhD Scholar, Centre for Development Studies; and Ruthu C. A., Office of the Vice Chairperson, Kerala State Planning Board, will present their findings, setting the stage for the discussion. The discussion will be chaired by Professor Madhura Swaminathan, Professor and Head, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute.