UPSC Indian Economy – Chapter 5: Poverty and Inequality (21 MCQs)
UPSC Indian Economy – Chapter 5: Poverty and Inequality (21 MCQs) – 21 questions, subject: Indian Economy. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.
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The Task Force that defined poverty lines using calorie norms of 2,400 kcal (rural) and 2,100 kcal (urban) was headed by:
Correct Answer: D [Y.K. Alagh]
Explanation:
1979.
India's last official poverty estimate refers to the year:
Correct Answer: B [2011-12]
Explanation:
21.9 per cent, Tendulkar method.
According to the Tendulkar method, the proportion of people below the poverty line in India in 2011-12 was:
Correct Answer: C [21.9 per cent]
Explanation:
released in July 2013.
Official poverty lines are higher in some States than in others mainly because:
Correct Answer: B [price levels vary from State to State]
Explanation:
the same basket costs different amounts.
In NITI Aayog's national MPI, the weight of the bank account indicator is:
Correct Answer: A [1/21]
Explanation:
Each of the seven standard-of-living indicators, including bank account, carries a weight of 1/21.
Which of the following are indicators in NITI Aayog's national MPI but not in the global MPI?
1. Maternal health
2. Bank account
3. Cooking fuel
4. Years of schooling
Select the correct answer:
Correct Answer: C [1 and 2 only]
Explanation:
the two additions.
A person is counted as multidimensionally poor in NITI Aayog's MPI if deprived in at least:
Correct Answer: D [one-third of the weighted indicators]
Explanation:
the poverty cut-off.
According to NITI Aayog's discussion paper of January 2024, India's multidimensional poverty head-count ratio fell between 2013-14 and 2022-23 from:
Correct Answer: A [29.17 per cent to 11.28 per cent]
Explanation:
about 24.82 crore people escaped.
Among the States, the highest multidimensional poverty head-count ratio in 2019-21 was in:
Correct Answer: B [Bihar]
Explanation:
33.76 per cent.
A Gini coefficient of zero indicates:
Correct Answer: D [perfect equality]
Explanation:
the Lorenz curve lies on the diagonal.
If five equal population groups receive 5, 10, 15, 25 and 45 per cent of income, the Gini coefficient is approximately:
Correct Answer: A [0.38]
Explanation:
1 − 2 × 0.31.
According to HCES 2023-24, average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (without imputation) in rural India was about:
Correct Answer: A [Rs 4,122]
Explanation:
2023-24.
Engel's law states that as household income rises:
Correct Answer: D [the share of income spent on food falls]
Explanation:
seen in HCES 2023-24.
The World Bank's 2025 estimate of India's extreme poverty rate in 2022-23 at the international line of US$ 3.00 a day (2021 PPP) is:
Correct Answer: C [5.3 per cent]
Explanation:
after the line was revised in June 2025.
The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 guarantees each rural household, in a financial year, wage employment of:
Correct Answer: A [125 days]
Explanation:
up from 100 under MGNREGA.
Assertion (A): Consumption-based Gini coefficients for India are much lower than income-based measures of inequality.
Reason (R): Richer households save a larger share of their incomes, and household surveys under-report the incomes and spending of the richest.
Correct Answer: B [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]
Explanation:
consumption is also smoother than income.
Consider the following statements about the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025:
1. It came into force on 1 July 2026.
2. It allows States to pause works for up to 60 days during peak agricultural seasons.
3. It keeps MGNREGA in force alongside the new Act.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Correct Answer: C [1 and 2 only]
Explanation:
MGNREGA repealed from the same date.
The "JAM trinity" used for direct benefit transfers refers to:
Correct Answer: B [Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile]
Explanation:
bank accounts, identity, mobile phones.
Arrange the following in chronological order:
1. Rangarajan Expert Group report
2. Lakdawala Expert Group report
3. Alagh Task Force report
4. Tendulkar Expert Group report
Correct Answer: D [3–2–4–1]
Explanation:
1979, 1993, 2009, 2014.
The Lakdawala Expert Group (1993) recommended:
Correct Answer: C [State-specific poverty lines, updated with consumer price indices for industrial workers and agricultural labourers]
Explanation:
Lakdawala drew State-specific lines, updating rural lines with CPI-AL and urban lines with CPI-IW price indices.
In a given year in India, official poverty lines are higher in some States than in others because
Correct Answer: B [price levels vary from State to State]
Explanation:
the same basket is priced at State price levels.
➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U15 · Indian Economy (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-indian-economy
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