Mains Practice Questions

Approach

• Define poverty and contrast it with multidimensional deprivations.
• Discuss different dimensions which are critical to achieve SDG’s.
• Conclusion.

Introduction

• Poverty refers to a condition where a person does not have the minimum amount of income needed to meet the minimum basic requirements like food and clothing over an extended period of time.
• Focusing on income only is not enough to capture the true reality of poverty as poor can suffer from multiple disadvantages at the same time e.g. poor health, malnutrition, a lack of clean water or electricity, poor quality of work or lack of education schooling.

SDG’s by highlighting the need to achieve multiple goals can address the multidimensional need of development. There are 17 SDGs, they recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth.

Body:

• End poverty: Removal of poverty is the Goal 1 of SDG. It identifies income criteria for removal of poverty. This is the minimum basic condition which is first step to be address wider developmental challenges.
• Ending hunger and malnutrition: It is another crucial SDG goal which seeks to address various health issues and lifelong disabilities including cognitive which arise due to malnutrition. These health issues have long term impact on earning capacities of individuals thus impacting their capacity to raise their income and account for a crucial form of deprivation. Thus addressing malnutrition goes well beyond the basic need for food and income.
• Good Health and Well being for all and at all ages: Health affects everything from how much one enjoy life to what work we can perform. That’s why there’s a SDG to make sure everyone has health coverage and access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines.
• Education and learning opportunities: Education has direct impact on quality of life of individuals e.g. level of income, ability to choose profession of one’s preference etc.
• Clean Water and sanitation: Everyone should have access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation facilities. The access to safe water and sanitation is necessary for good health as well as nutritional needs of individuals. Poor sanitation has health repercussion e.g. debilitating diseases like Polio are caused by poor sanitary conditions.
• Gender Equality: About half of the human population has restricted rights and economic opportunities because of patriarchal social norms. This deprivation reduces the capacity of women to achieve outcomes which according to their inherent capabilities e.g. wage inequality based on gender is global phenomenon.

Conclusion:

• SDGs are recognition of fact that poverty cannot be addressed merely by enhancing incomes. Development is a multidimensional construct as illustrated by Human development index. Thus policy makers in developing societies should try to address the intertwined issues of development to address poverty.
• In Indian context Aspirational Districts Programme to address health & nutrition, education, agriculture & water resources, financial Inclusion & skill Development, and basic infrastructure is in right direction.