Poverty is defined as a situation in which a family's fundamental necessities, such as food, housing, clothes, and education, are not met. It can lead to additional issues such as low literacy, unemployment, and starvation, among others. Due to a lack of funds, a poor individual is unable to obtain an education and hence remains unemployed. Unemployed people are unable to provide sufficient and healthy food for their families, and their health suffers as a result. A person who is weak lacks the necessary energy for the work. A unemployed individual would always be impoverished. As a result, we might claim that poverty is the basis of all other issues.
The United Nations has created two methods for evaluating poverty: absolute and relative poverty. In developing nations like India, absolute poverty is used to assess poverty. In industrialized countries like the United States, relative poverty is employed to quantify poverty. A poverty line has been established based on the minimum level of income in absolute poverty. If a family's daily income is less than this, they are poor or living in poverty. If a family's daily income exceeds this amount, it is considered non-poor or above the poverty line. The new poverty threshold in India is Rs 32 in rural areas and Rs 47 in cities.
"Poverty is not natural; it is manufactured," said Nobel Laureate and South African leader Nelson Mandela. The preceding remark is correct since most causes of poverty are caused by humans. Poverty has several causes, but the most significant is population growth. Countries' resources and budgets are being strained by rising population. Food, housing, and work are becoming increasingly difficult for governments to supply.
Lack of education, conflict, natural disasters, a lack of job, a lack of infrastructure, political instability, and so on are some of the other factors. For example, a person becomes jobless due to a lack of employment prospects and is unable to earn enough to meet his family's basic needs, resulting in poverty. Lack of knowledge forces a person to accept lower-paying occupations, making him poorer. Lack of infrastructure indicates that a country lacks industry, banks, and other institutions, resulting in a labor shortage. Natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes exacerbate poverty.
A protracted period of civil conflict in certain nations, particularly African ones like Somalia, has resulted in widespread poverty. This is because all of the resources and money are being diverted to the war effort rather than public welfare. Natural catastrophes, such as cyclones, are common in countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Every year, these calamities occur, leading poverty to grow.
A poor family's life is affected by poverty. Poor people are unable to consume adequate food and nourishment, and their capacity to work is reduced. His income is further reduced by his reduced capacity to work, leaving him impoverished. Children from low-income families do not receive adequate education or nourishment. They must work in order to support their families, which ruins their childhood. Some of them may be involved in crimes such as theft, murder, and robbery, among others. A poor individual is illiterate and forced to live in slums in unsanitary conditions. In slums, there is no basic sanitation or drinking water, therefore he gets sick frequently and his health deteriorates. A disadvantaged individual is more likely to die young. As a result, all societal ills are linked to poverty.
The Indian government has also taken many steps to reduce poverty in the country. Some of these include establishing job opportunities, population control, and so on. In India, almost 60% of the population still relies on agriculture for a living. The Indian government has taken steps to boost agriculture. In our nation, the government built dams and canals to offer convenient access to water for irrigation. To support agriculture, the government has also made initiatives to make seeds and farming equipment more affordable. The government is also encouraging the cultivation of commercial crops such as cotton rather than food crops. The government is supporting manufacturing in cities in order to create more jobs. 'Ration stores' have also been established by the government.
Other initiatives include free and obligatory education for children up to the age of 14, scholarships for deserving students from low-income families, and subsidized housing for the poor.
Poverty is a societal ill, but we can help to combat it. For example, we may easily contribute old clothes to the needy, fund a poor child's education, or volunteer to educate impoverished pupils in our spare time. Before you throw food out, keep in mind that someone is still hungry.