Diets, Nutrition, and Poverty - The Oxford Topic of Food, Politics, and Society - page 345

Real income transfers (RIT) through the TPDS in three Indian states (Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, and Rajasthan), based on primary data collected by the authors, and build-
ing on extant literature provides underscores this rather discouraging assessment (Jha et al.
2013).44 Table 13.8 provides definitions of acute poverty, moderate poverty, moderate non-
poverty and affluence for the three states.
The mean RIT among participating households per month from wheat is the highest
in Rajasthan (Rs 93) and lowest in Maharashtra (Rs 60). In Rajasthan, RIT from TPDS
for wheat to half of the participating households is Rs 100 or less (in fact, about 48% of
the households have no real income transfer from TPDS), about 28% have between Rs
100 Rs 200, and 19% have more than Rs 200. By contrast, in Maharashtra, about 34% of
the households had no real-income transfer, and about 20% had real-income transfers
of greater than Rs 100—around $2 in 2013 exchange rates.
As an explicitly propoor food policy, the targeted food-distribution system had indif-
ferent results. For wheat, the mean RIT among the acutely poor households (Rs 56) is
lower than that among moderately poor (Rs 121) and nonpoor (Rs 71 for moderately
nonpoor and Rs 128 for the relatively affluent) in Rajasthan; and, in Maharashtra, the
RIT among the acutely poor (Rs 65) is slightly higher than those among other categories
(Rs 55 among moderately poor and Rs 58 among moderately nonpoor).45

Table 13.8 Definitions of Different Levels of Poverty

Levels of poverty Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra

Acute poverty If per capita

monthly
consumption
expenditure
<Rs.383

If per capita monthly
consumption
expenditure <Rs.299

If per capita monthly consumption
expenditure < Rs 371

Moderate
poverty

If per capita
monthly
consumption
expenditure >=383
but < Rs.450

If per capita monthly
consumption
expenditure >=Rs.299
but <Rs.352

If per capita monthly consumption
expenditure >=Rs.371 but <Rs.436

Moderate
Nonpoverty

If per capita
monthly
consumption
expenditure
>=Rs.450 but
< Rs.585

If per capita monthly
consumption
expenditure >=Rs.352
but < Rs.458

If per capita monthly consumption
expenditure >=Rs. 436 but <Rs.567

Affluent If per capita

monthly
consumption
expenditure >=
Rs.585

If per capita monthly
consumption
expenditure
>=Rs.458

If per capita monthly consumption
expenditure >=Rs.567