At least 29,5 percent of Indian citizens lived in poverty in 2011-2012, according to a study that revised upwards a previous one that based its estimates on income levels considered offensively low.
The so-called Rangarajan Panel (named after former governor of the Reserve Bank of India) marked the poverty line when income of residents in urban areas were of 47 rupees a day (less than 0.79 USD) and of 32 rupees in rural areas (0.53 USD).
Based on that, at that moment 363 million people lived under the poverty line, or 93 million more than those estimated before (2009-2010) by a group of experts that set the limit at 33 rupees for urban areas and 27 rupees for rural areas.
The first of those investigations was strongly criticized as an attempt by the previous government (of the ruling Congress Party) to reduce poverty figures artificially.
The second study, also ordered by the same political force (the Congress Party) -now an opposition group after the elections of May– will be discussed by the administration of new Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but it is yet to be known whether he will take it into consideration when time comes to design his social and economic policies. (PL)