QUESTION NO. 7 CAUSES OF POVERTY

INTRODUCTION –

Poverty is one of the main issues, attracting the attention of sociologists and economists. It indicates a condition in which a person fails to maintain a living standard adequate for a comfortable lifestyle.

Poverty in India can be defined as a situation when a certain section of people are unable to fulfill their basic needs. India has the world's largest no. of poor people living in a single country. Out of its total population of more than 1.2 billion, 350 to 400 million people are living below the poverty line. Nearly 75% of the poor people are in rural areas, most of them are daily wagers, landless laborers and self employed house holders. There are a number of reasons for poverty in India.

1. OVERPOPULATION

Overpopulation, the situation of having large numbers of people with too few resources and too little space, is closely associated with poverty. It can result from high population density (the ratio of people to land area, usually expressed as numbers of persons per square kilometer or square mile) or from low amounts of resources, or from both. Excessively high population densities put stress on available resources. Only a certain number of people can be supported on a given area of land, and that number depends on how much food and other resources the land can provide. In countries where people live primarily by means of simple farming, gardening, herding, hunting, and gathering, even large areas of land can support only small numbers of people because these labor-intensive subsistence activities produce only small amounts of food.

2. UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES

Many experts agree that the legacy of colonialism accounts for much of the unequal distribution of resources in the world economy. In many developing countries, the problems of poverty are massive and pervasive. In recent decades most of these countries have tried to develop their economies with industry and technology with varying levels of success. Some nations have become fairly wealthy, including the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. Many developing countries, however, lack essential raw materials and the knowledge and skills gained through formal education and training. They also often lack the infrastructure provided by, for example, transportation systems and power-generating facilities. Because these things are necessary for the development of industry, developing countries generally must rely on trade with developed countries for manufactured goods, but they cannot afford much.

Developed countries also tend to have a high cost of living. Even the most basic lifestyle in these countries, with few or no luxuries, can be relatively expensive. Most people in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, western European nations, and other developed countries cannot obtain adequate food, clothing, and shelter without ample amounts of money. In some areas, even people with jobs that pay the legal minimum wages may not be able to cover their basic expenses. People who cannot find or maintain well-paying jobs often have no spare income for discretionary or emergency expenses, and many rely on government welfare payments to survive.

3. ILLITERACY

Illiteracy and lack of education are common in poor countries. Governments of developing countries often cannot afford to provide for good public schools, especially in rural areas. Without education, most people cannot find income-generating work. Poor people also often forego schooling in order to concentrate on making a minimal living.

4. UNEMPLOYMENT

In addition, developing countries tend to have few employment opportunities, especially for women. Even in developed countries, unemployment rates may be high. When people do not have work, they do not make any money; thus, high unemployment leads to high levels of poverty.

5. ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

In many parts of the world, environmental degradation — the deterioration of the natural environment, including the atmosphere, bodies of water, soil, and forests — is an important cause of poverty. Environmental problems have led to shortages of food, clean water, materials for shelter, and other essential resources. As forests, land, air, and water are degraded, people who live directly off these natural resources suffer most from the effects. People in developed countries, on the other hand, have technologies and conveniences such as air and water filters, refined fuels, and industrially produced and stored foods to buffer themselves from the effects of environmental degradation.

Global environmental degradation may result from a variety of factors, including overpopulation and the resulting overuse of land and other resources. Intensive farming, for instance, depletes soil fertility, thus decreasing crop yields. Environmental degradation also results from pollution. Polluting industries include mining, power generation, and chemical production. Other major sources of pollution include automobiles and agricultural fertilizers.

6. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

Political environment is also one of the main cause of poverty, the political leaders use the national resources for their personal use. The national resources which should be used for the welfare of poor people are used by political leaders and ministers for their own profit, which cause the misuse of national resources.

7. INFLATION

The term inflation means the decrease in the purchasing power of money. In other words when the price of commodities increases it decrease the purchasing power of money which is known as inflation. Taking inflation into account, average family income almost doubled during this period. When the price of commodities increase it needs to pay more money for same quantity, thus it cause poverty.

8. CORRUPTION

The government officers (especially policeman) take bribes and torture the poor people and keep away the poor people from the facilities which they should get, this also cause poverty.

CONCLUSION

Finally I say that poverty is a disease for society. The rich people are becoming more richer and the poor people are becoming more poorer. There is a big gap between rich and poor and it needs a lot of efforts to fill this gap.

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. GURDEEPAK SINGH

SUBMITTED BY: JASVINDER SINGH (MBA 1C)