India can't end poverty by 2015, as per new index

India can't end poverty by 2015, as per new index


South Asian nations including India would not be able to eradicate poverty and ensure minimum education for all by 2015, according to a new poverty index to be released next week in Delhi.

The Basic Capabilities Index (BCI) 2009 has found that South Asia will get 80 points on the index by 2015, 10 points higher than the present value of 70. India has got 68 points in the index, an increase of a meagre four points since 2004.

The global NGO Social Watch's index of over 130 countries says a score of 100 points defines the well being of citizens based on children getting education till the primary level, the child mortality rate and the percentage of births attended by skilled labourers. The BCI does not use income as an indicator. "The index shows that despite our (India's) economic growth, we are still way behind on providing basic amenities to people," said Amitabh Jha, of Social Watch-India, a conglomeration of civil society groups in India.

Working on similar well-being criteria, the Suresh Tendulkar committee in December had said 38 per cent of Indians are poor. The index to be released on Monday in an international workshop agrees that providing basic facilities to all, as committed in the millennium development goals, is still a challenge for India.

The index, however, said that South Asia, a region with the worst BCI showing in 2004, has been making fast progress, but the situation is still "extremely critical". Since 2004, the report said, one-third of the countries failed to raise their BCI value by more than one per cent and only one out of six countries showed significant progress. "Most of the countries in the world are very far from achieving the social objectives committed to for 2015," said Roberto Bissio, coordinator of the Social Watch secretariat.

The index also tells about the increasing gap in the living standards of the rich and poor in the world. The highest BCI value is 97 for Iran and the lowest is 44 for Chad in Africa, followed by Afghanistan, Ethopia, Bangladesh and Nepal. "There is an enormous gap in living conditions between the nations with the highest average BCI (north America) and regions with the worst (Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia)," the report said. Bissio said the index can guide policy makers on the social impact of economic growth and the social progress of nations in comparison to that of others.


IndianExpress