SSC CGL Economics · National Income, Growth and Development Indicators
Poverty, Unemployment and Human Development
How India draws its poverty line and the Multidimensional Poverty Index, the kinds of unemployment with examples, and India's neighbours on the Human Development Index.
Why this matters
Twenty-two questions in the bank: 12 from the 2023 shifts, eight from the 2024 shifts and two from the 2025 shifts, and seven of them HARD, more than any other page in this chapter. The hard ones ask an exact figure (the poverty line, an MPI share), so learn the few numbers in the tables exactly.
Concept 1 of 3: Poverty lines and the MPI
Definition
Poverty lines:
- They are set by monthly per capita (consumption) expenditure.
- For 2011-12 (Tendulkar method): Rs 816 a month in villages, Rs 1,000 in towns.
- Dadabhai Naoroji first discussed a poverty line, before independence.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (by NITI Aayog):
- The first (November 2021): Bihar was the poorest State. Urban poverty was 8.81%.
- The 2023 index: Kerala had the lowest share of poor people.
Self-help groups have done most to raise the economic status of poor rural women.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · National Income, Growth and Development Indicators · Poverty, Unemployment and Human Development
MPCE, not MSP
Concept 2 of 3: Kinds of unemployment
Definition
The kinds:
- Seasonal: work only in some months, as in farming or hill tourism. Mostly rural.
- Disguised: more people on a job than it needs, as on a family farm; taking some away does not cut output.
- Educated: the educated cannot find work, often for lack of employable skills. Mostly urban.
- Structural and cyclical: from long-term change in the economy, and from slumps in the business cycle.
Facts:
- The main cause usually given is fast population growth. Higher cropping intensity reduces rural unemployment.
- A demographic dividend comes from a large working-age (15 to 64) population.
- The NREGA (2005) began in 200 districts in its first phase.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · National Income, Growth and Development Indicators · Poverty, Unemployment and Human Development
Seasonal is rural, educated is urban
Concept 3 of 3: Human development and inequality
Definition
The facts:
- The UNDP publishes the Human Development Index. In the 2021-22 report: Sri Lanka 73, Maldives 90, Bhutan 127, Bangladesh 129, India 132.
- The 2010 report changed the method and added an inequality-adjusted index. India's index rose after 2010, but not because of that change.
- Globalisation after 1991 widened inequality because growth went mostly to the urban, skilled and service sectors.
| Country | HDI rank 2021-22 |
|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 73 |
| Maldives | 90 |
| Bhutan | 127 |
| Bangladesh | 129 |
| India | 132 |
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 3 · National Income, Growth and Development Indicators · Poverty, Unemployment and Human Development
A method change is not a cause
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Kinds of unemployment4 rows
Human development and inequality5 rows
| Country | HDI rank 2021-22 |
|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 73 |
| Maldives | 90 |
| Bhutan | 127 |
| Bangladesh | 129 |
| India | 132 |
Watch out for (3)
- MPCE, not MSP→ Poverty lines and the MPI
- Seasonal is rural, educated is urban→ Kinds of unemployment
- A method change is not a cause→ Human development and inequality
Test yourself on National Income, Growth and Development Indicators
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.