Page 457 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

US dollar till 1975 through a fixed exchange rate. It was devalued in
September 1975 and the system of fixed par rate was replaced with a basket
of four major international currencies — the British pound, the US dollar, the
Japanese yen and the Deutsche mark. Since 2003, the Rupee has been

steadily appreciating against the US dollar. In 2009, a rising rupee prompted
the Government of India to purchase 200 tonnes of gold for $6.7 billion from

the IMF.

Income and Consumption

India’s gross national income per capita had experienced astonishing growth
rates since 2002. India’s Per Capita Income has tripled from `19,040 in
2002–03 to `53,331 in 2010–11, averaging 13.7% growth over these eight

years. It further grew by 14.3% to reach `60,972 during 2011–12 fiscal.
Indian official estimates of the extent of poverty have been subject to debate,
with concerns being raised about the methodology for the determination of

the poverty line. As of 2005, according to World Bank statistics, 75.6% of the
population lived on less than $2 a day (PPP), while 27.5% of the population
was living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day.

However, data released in 2009 by the Government of India estimated that
37% of the population lived below the poverty line.

Housing is modest. According to The Times of India, a majority of Indians

2
had a per capita space equivalent to or less than a 100 sq ft (9.3 m ) room for
their basic living needs, and one-third of urban Indians lived in “homes too
cramped to exceed even the minimum requirements of a prison cell in the

2
US”. The average is 103 sq ft (9.6 m ) per person in rural areas and 117 sq ft
2
(10.9 m ) per person in urban areas.
Around half of Indian children are malnourished. The proportion of

underweight children is nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa. However,
India has not had any major famines since Independence.

Since the early 1950s, successive governments have implemented various

schemes to alleviate poverty, under central planning, that have met with
partial success. All these programmes have relied upon the strategies of the