BharatNotes Tendulkar Committee
/ˈtendʊlkər kəˈmɪti/An expert group chaired by economist Suresh Tendulkar, constituted by the Planning Commission in 2009, which revised India's poverty measurement methodology — shifting from calorie-based norms to a consumption expenditure approach that captured spending on food, education, health, clothing, and other essentials — estimating India's poverty ratio at 37.2% in 2004-05 and 21.9% in 2011-12, sharply higher than the earlier BPL methodology's estimates.
Context & Background
The Tendulkar Committee report (2009) fundamentally changed official poverty measurement — replacing the long-standing calorie-norm method (Lakdawala Committee, 1993) with a consumption basket approach. This produced higher poverty estimates, which critics argued were still too low for India's actual deprivation levels. The subsequent Rangarajan Committee (2014) used a different methodology and arrived at higher estimates — 29.5% poverty (2011-12). NITI Aayog has since moved to the Multidimensional Poverty Index as a supplementary measure.
UPSC Exam Relevance
GS2 & GS3 — Prelims: Tendulkar Committee (2009); poverty = 37.2% (2004-05) and 21.9% (2011-12) by Tendulkar method; Rangarajan Committee (2014) estimated 29.5% (2011-12); key shift — calorie norm → consumption basket; rural poverty line ₹816/month and urban ₹1,000/month (Tendulkar, 2011-12); NITI Aayog National MPI: 24.82% multidimensionally poor (2015-16 NFHS-4 base), reduced to 11.28% (2019-21 NFHS-5) — 134.8 million people lifted out of multidimensional poverty in 9 years. Mains: methodology controversy; calorie norm vs consumption basket vs capability approach; official poverty estimates vs lived reality; impact of welfare schemes on poverty reduction.
