In India, poverty is estimated primarily on the basis of

Correct option is A

Correct Answer: (A) Household consumption expenditure
Explanation:
→ India estimates poverty using consumption surveys rather than self-reported income, which can fluctuate wildly.
→ Household expenditure acts as a highly stable proxy for measuring actual living standards.
→ This method captures food intake and essential services to check if households meet basic nutritional needs.
→ It provides standard data to compute the National Poverty Line using Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE).
Information Booster:
→ Data on consumption patterns is traditionally collected through surveys by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
→ Poverty estimations have historically been guided by committees like the Tendulkar and Rangarajan committees.
→ A minimum intake of 2,400 calories in rural areas and 2,100 calories in urban areas forms the base caloric norm.
→ The NITI Aayog coordinates tasks related to establishing poverty thresholds and assessing socioeconomic indicators.
→ Recently, India has also adopted the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to evaluate health, education, and living standards.