Post-independence India inherited a colonial economy characterized by stagnant agriculture, a weak industrial base, and massive poverty (estimated at over 70% in 1947). The early decades focused on a “Trickle-Down” strategy, followed by a shift toward direct poverty intervention in the 1970s. The core philosophy was centered on the “Socialist Pattern of Society” adopted at the 1955 Avadi Session of the Indian National Congress.
The Trickle-Down Approach (First to Third Five-Year Plans)
In the initial phase (1951–1966), the government believed that rapid industrialization and agricultural growth would automatically benefit the poor through increased employment and income.
- Institutional Reforms: Focused on land reforms, including the abolition of the Zamindari system and the imposition of land ceilings to redistribute assets to the landless.
- Community Development Programme (CDP), 1952: The first major initiative for rural upliftment, focusing on infrastructure, hygiene, and agricultural extension services.
- Emphasis on Heavy Industry: Under the Mahalanobis Model (Second Plan), the state invested in capital goods to create long-term economic self-reliance, though this failed to generate immediate mass employment.
Shift to Direct Intervention: The “Garibi Hatao” Era
By the late 1960s, it was evident that economic growth was not reaching the bottom of the pyramid. The Fourth and Fifth Five-Year Plans marked a pivot toward targeted poverty alleviation programs.
- Garibi Hatao Slogan: Coined by Indira Gandhi during the 1971 election campaign, making poverty removal a central political and economic goal.
- Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA): Established to provide credit and technical assistance to small and marginal farmers who missed the initial benefits of the Green Revolution.
- Minimum Needs Programme (MNP), 1974: Launched during the Fifth Plan to provide basic social consumption items like elementary education, rural health, water supply, and nutrition.
Landmark Poverty Alleviation Programs (1970s–1980s)
The government introduced specific employment-linked and asset-creation schemes to tackle rural and urban distress.
| Program Name | Launch Year | Key Objective |
| Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) | 1983 | Guaranteed 100 days of work to at least one member of every landless household. |
| Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) | 1978/1980 | Provided subsidized loans and assets (like livestock) to BPL families for self-employment. |
| Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM) | 1979 | Focused on skill development for rural youth aged 18–35. |
| National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) | 1980 | Replaced the “Food for Work” program to create community assets and wage employment. |
| Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) | 1982 | A sub-scheme of IRDP aimed at improving the living standards of women in rural poor households. |
| Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) | 1989 | Merged NREP and RLEGP into a single massive rural wage employment scheme. |
Major Committees and Poverty Estimation
Defining “who is poor” was critical for policy targeting. Several expert groups were formed to establish the “Poverty Line” based on nutritional requirements.
- Planning Commission Working Group (1962): Suggested a national minimum consumption expenditure of ₹20 per capita per month in rural areas and ₹25 in urban areas.
- VM Dandekar and N Rath (1971): The first systematic assessment based on National Sample Survey (NSS) data. They defined the poverty line based on a daily intake of 2,250 calories.
- YK Alagh Committee (1979): Refined the poverty line based on nutritional requirements—2,400 calories for rural areas and 2,100 calories for urban areas. This became the standard for subsequent decades.
Fact-File and Trivia for Prelims
- The “Hindu Rate of Growth”: Coined by economist Raj Krishna, this referred to the low 3.5% average annual growth rate between 1950 and 1980, which hampered rapid poverty reduction.
- Antyodaya Scheme: First introduced by the Rajasthan government in 1977 (under Bhairon Singh Shekhawat), it aimed at the “upliftment of the last man.” It was later adopted nationally.
- Twenty-Point Programme (TPP): Launched in 1975, it was a package of social and economic reforms specifically targeting poverty, housing, and education.
- Food for Work Programme (1977): Launched during the Janata Party rule to provide food grains as wages for manual labor in rural development projects.
Critical Evaluation of Early Policies
While the early decades saw a decline in the headcount ratio of poverty, the absolute number of poor people remained high due to rapid population growth.
- Asset vs. Income: IRDP focused on giving assets (cows, sewing machines), but many poor lacked the market links or skills to generate sustained income from them.
- Bureaucratic Leaks: Programs suffered from “top-down” implementation, leading to significant leakages and identification errors (inclusion of non-poor and exclusion of the real poor).
- Institutional Bottlenecks: Land reforms were largely unsuccessful in states other than West Bengal and Kerala, leaving a large population of landless agricultural laborers.