The Indian government has recently launched a door-to-door survey to address urban poverty, focusing on vulnerable groups like domestic and gig workers.

Key Facts

• Recent reports, including NITI Aayog’s analysis and the India Employment Report 2024 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), suggest that the proportion of urban poverty has declined. 
• It dropped from 13.7% in 2012 to 12.55% in 2022. However, the absolute number of urban poor continues to rise due to rapid urbanisation.
• In fact, experts warn that as more people migrate to urban areas in search of better opportunities, the issue of urban poverty is likely to worsen.

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Characteristics of Urban Poverty

• High living costs: Individuals and households in urban poverty often face low income levels, struggling to meet basic needs such as food, clothing,shelter and healthcare.
• Lack of Access to Affordable Housing: High housing costs, rents , overcrowding, and inadequate housing conditions are common in urban poor areas. Many live in informal settlements or slums.
• Poor Living Conditions: Overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, and vulnerability to environmental hazards like floods and pollution are common in areas where the urban poor live.

Evolution of Urban Poverty in India

• Growth and Migration:
  • The 1990s economic reforms spurred urbanization, with increased investments in industries and services driving demand for skilled labor. 
  • This led to significant rural-to-urban and urban-to-urban migration. However, the growth was uneven, resulting in disparities in benefits.                           
• Slum Growth:
  • As cities faced challenges in providing affordable housing and services, informal settlements and slums grew, especially near railways and dumpyards.
  • This urban expansion, driven by migration, led to overcrowding and the “urbanization of poverty.”

Problems of Slums in India

Slums, often seen as the epicenter of urban poverty, are home to millions of India’s urban poor.

• Definition of Slums:
  • 2011 Census Definition: A slum is defined as a cluster of 60-70 households, regardless of the legality of tenure.
  • NSSO and Planning Commission Definition: A slum is a compact settlement of at least 20 households.
• Prevalence of Slums:
  • In 2001, 23.5% of urban households lived in slums, decreasing to 17% by 2011. 
  • However, the absolute number of slum households grew from 10.5 million to 13.75 million, indicating a rise in slum dwellers despite the relative decline.
• Slums in Small and Medium Towns:
  • While slums are often linked to large cities, research shows poverty is more severe in small and medium towns. 
  • In fact, 62% of slum dwellers live outside major urban areas, indicating widespread slum conditions beyond large cities.
• Undercounting of Slums:
  • The current definition excludes smaller clusters with fewer than 60 households, where vulnerable residents often live.
  • This exclusion leads to a significant undercounting of slums, missing out on many at-risk populations.
• Environmental Hazards:
  • Many slum clusters, especially those with fewer than 60 households, are located in environmentally hazardous areas. 
  • These include flood-prone zones, riverbanks, near sewage drains, railway tracks, and polluting factories, hillsides prone to landslides or waste dumps etc. 
• Living Conditions:
  • Over half of the urban poor live in conditions that are smaller than the space allocated for a prison cell.
  • These overcrowded conditions not only exacerbate poverty but also increase vulnerability to environmental disasters and climate change.

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Connection Between Urban Poverty and Informal Jobs

Urban poverty is strongly linked to the informal sector, where many poor migrants find employment.

• Characteristics of Informal Sector Jobs: Workers in the informal sector often lack job security and social benefits, such as health insurance or pensions. 
  • They typically work in low-paying, labor-intensive jobs with no legal protections.
  • Examples include domestic workers, street vendors, and home-based workers.
• Job Insecurity and Low Wages: Informal sector jobs are characterized by insecure employment, where workers have no contracts, few protections, and very low wages. 
  • This insecurity exacerbates their poverty, making it difficult to escape the cycle of poverty.

Schemes to address urban poverty

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U): PMAY-U aims to provide affordable housing for all urban poor through subsidies and financial assistance for the construction of houses.
• Jal Jeevan Mission – Urban(JJM-U): The JJM – U focuses on ensuring safe and adequate drinking water supply to all urban households through individual household tap connections.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY): DAY focuses on uplifting urban poor through skill development and sustainable livelihood opportunities by promoting inclusive urban development
• National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM): NULM aims to reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor by promoting skill development, self-employment, and institutional support.

These initiatives aim to address issues like housing, drinking water, sanitation as well as gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities. 

Challenges in Addressing Urban Poverty

• Difficulty in Estimating Informal Sector and Slums: Accurately measuring urban poverty is challenging due to the underreporting of slums and informal settlements. 
  • Many slums are not officially counted, and migrants are often excluded from official statistics and poverty assessments.
• Exclusion from Benefits: Migrants and informal sector workers are sometimes left out of government schemes and benefits, making it difficult to effectively address their needs.
• Leakage of Schemes: There is significant leakage in government schemes, where benefits either fail to reach the intended beneficiaries or are diverted, reducing the effectiveness of poverty alleviation efforts.

Way Forward

• Data Rationalisation: There is a need for better data collection and rationalisation to capture the full extent of urban poverty, including slums, informal settlements, and migrant populations, to design effective policies.
• Expansion of Social Protection: Social protection and safety nets should be expanded to cover all vulnerable groups, including migrants and informal workers.
• Improved Implementation of Schemes: Ensuring better implementation of existing schemes by addressing gaps in beneficiary identification and distribution. 
  • Special focus should be on female workers, who are often more likely to be excluded from benefits.
• Inclusive Policy Execution: An inclusive policy approach can ensure urban poverty alleviation reaches vulnerable groups, including migrants, women, and informal sector workers.

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Conclusion

Addressing urban poverty will require targeted policies, better data collection, and inclusive social protection to ensure sustainable urban development and poverty alleviation.

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