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A Decent Life

There is no doubt, according to official data, that India has made enormous progress by halving its poverty rate from 45% of the population in 1994 to 22% in 2012. However 270 million still live in miserable poverty. But the Mc Kinsey Global Institute (MGI) proposes to examine the situation in the country through an alternative indicator, the Empowerment Line, which is an analytical framework that determines a decent standard of living in eight fields: food, energy, housing, drinking water, sanitation, health care, educational and social security. And the outcome of this composite indicator is significantly different. By this measure, 680 million Indians live under the poverty line.This is more than twice the official figures! According to the MGI's report, four key reforms could eliminate extreme poverty: 1.Accelerating job creation. India needs to add 115 million new jobs by 2022, not in the agricultural sector,but in the manufacturing and construction sectors. 2.Raising farm productivity.Increasing investment in agricultural infrastructure, promoting new technologies could help to raise potential growth. 3.Increasing public spending on basic services such as health and access to drinking water. 4.Making basic services more effective.The report considers that "half of India's current public spending does not translate into improved outcomes for the poor". The Empowerment Line lies the promise of dignified life for every Indian household. Clearly,there is still a long way to go.It should be remembered that,to date, 50% of India's households have no access to improved sanitation facilities. But it should also be noted that the progress already made in a giant country of over 1.20 billion people is remarkable.

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