Ashoka Mody, an economist discusses issues with measuring poverty in India, especially with the recent release of partial consumption data. The author argues in the Project Syndicate article that the official statistics might be misleading.
Economists have doubted India’s GDP data for a while, believing it to overestimate growth. The recently released consumption figures are also questioned because a previous survey showing high poverty rates was scrapped. The author finds it suspicious that the government would release partial data just before an election.
There are issues with how the poverty line is set. The World Bank sets the extreme poverty line at $1.90 per day, but critics argue this is too low for India. People who can’t afford even the basic necessities for survival are still considered not poor according to this standard.