Telangana Socio Economic Outlook 2014

Services Tax

NITI AAYOG

PRACTICE QUESTIONS ABOUT "NITI AAYOG"

1. Think - tank of Government of India that replaces Planning Commission of India is...

1) NITI Vakya

2) NITI Vajpayee

3) NITI Prasasthi

4) NITI Dharma

5) NITI Aayog

2. NITI Aayog stands for......

1) National Institution for Transition India

2) National Information for Transforming India

3) National Institution for Take India

4) National Institution for Transforming India

5) None

3. NITI Aayog come into effect from....

1) 1 April 2015

2) 1 April 2016

3) 1 March 2015

4) 1 January 2015

5) 25 Dec 2014

4. The NITI Aayog headed by....

1) President of India

2) Finance Minister

3) Minister for Planning

4) RBI Governor

5) Prime Minister

5. To reflect changes required in India's governance structures and provide a more active role for the state governments in achieving national objectives, NITI Aayog initiated. Its Vice Chairman appointed by .....

1) President of India

2) Vice President of India

3) Finance Minister

4) Home Minister

5) Prime Minister

6. Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog is...

1) Montek Singh Ahluwalia

2) Arvind Panagariya

3) Abhijith Sen

4) Amartya Sen

5) None

7. NITI Aayog has been tasked with a role of formulating policies and direction for the government and serving as a think-tank, which will have Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Present CEO is....

1) Arvind Mayaram

2) Rajiv Meharshi

3) Sudha Pillai

4) Sindhushree Khullar

5) None

8. NITI Aayog will have full time members. It will have how many part time members selected from leading universities research organizations and other relevant institutions in an exofficio capacity?

1) 4

2) 6

3) 8

4) 2

5) None

9. An Economist Bibek Debroy and V.K.Saraswat were appointed as full-time members of NITI Aayog. Who is V.K.Saraswat ?

1) former DRDO Chief

2) former ISRO Chairman

3) former Finance Secretary

4) former Defence Minister

5) None of above

10. Maximum of how many Ex-officio members selected from the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister in NITI Ayog?

1) 12

2) 7

3) 4

4) 10

5) None

11. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and ........... were made ex-officio members of NITI ayog.

1) Tribal Affaris Minister Jula Oram

2) Rural Development Minister Chaudary Birender Singh

3) Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh

4) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj

5) None

12. Roads and National Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani and ...... were made Special invitees to the NITI Aayog?

1) Law and Justice Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda

2) Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar

3) Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot

4) Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu

5) None

13. Planning Commission was the centre-tostate one-way flow of policy, where as NITI Ayog is a genuine and continuing partnership of states. NITI Ayog depends on how many pillars of Effective governance?

1) 7

2) 5

3) 10

4) 8

5) 12

14. NITI Ayog will have .......... comprising the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.

1) Presidium

2) Co-ordination committee

3) General Committee

4) Governing Council

5) Administrative Council

15. Regional Councils will be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one state or a region. They are headed by......

1) Governor of the state or Finance Minister of India

2) Chief Minister

3) Chairperson of the NITI Aayog or his nominee

4) President of India and Governor of state

5) None of above

ANSWERS:

1-5, 2-4, 3-4, 4-5, 5-5, 6-2, 7-4, 8-2, 9-1, 10-3

11-3, 12-3, 13-1, 14-4, 15-3

Indian Economy Study Material

1. Adam Simth is called the father of economics.
2. The famous book "Economics" author Chanakya or Kautilya, who are also known as Vishnugupta.
3. The head of the economics department 5-consumption, production, exchange, distribution and revenue.
4. currency devaluation means that a currency's external value to be lower at first Unit of foreign currency in exchange for receiving.
5. Reserve Bank of India is the central bank. Whose headquarters is in Mumberi.
6. The main source of national income in India is agriculture.
7. In India, the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance on the rupee note and other notes are signed by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
8. India Cpari twenty bucks and higher denomination notes "Bank Note Press, Dewas' is in.
9. Note the value of currency in India is written in 17 languages.
10. In India, the national income is calculated by the Central Sankiykiy organization.
11. 'Tejdihya' and 'Mnddihya word are related to the stock market.
12. Many people will come in RBI person can open a personal account.
13. Independent Reserve Bank of India was first nationalized bank.
14. State Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, the highest branches and most branches overseas.
15. India's largest public sector undertaking in terms of annual sales to Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
16. The Government of India in the 1996-97 budget year, the Alternative Minimum Tax (MAT) was included.
17. "India Brand Equity Fund" was founded in 1996 Huri.
18. One of the country is below the poverty line than Tihari.
19. Indian budget 'monsoon called gambling, because the year has also failed monsoon, inflationary signs and all development activities in the country is in a stalemate.
20. Plan a third plan in the history of India's most unsuccessful plan called.
21. India has the highest participation of the United Kingdom is the country's multinational corporations.
22. India has 24 recognized stock exchanges. Huri first stock exchange was established Mumberi of them.
23. India's national income accounts for most of the tertiary sector.
24. National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) was established in 1950.
25. India's gross domestic savings of the household sector is the largest contributor.
26. Inflation in India 'wholesale price index is measured by.
27. India's largest source of tax revenue to the central government's tax and tariff-central product.
28. In India, the founder and creator of the budget system is considered to James Wilson.
29. Based structure and providing equipment for the country's largest company listed on the stock exchanges in London Sreri Infrastructure Finance Limited is the first Indian company.
30. The Government of the Centre to provide social security to the citizens Mri 1, 2010, the New Pension System "is planned.

CENSUS 2011 - IMPORTANT FACTS

Census 2011 is the 15th Census of India since 1872. The slogan of Census 2011 is "Our Census, Our Future". The present Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India is Dr. C. Chandramouli. Census 2011 covered 35 States/Union Territories, 640 districts, 5,924 Sub-districts, 7,933 Towns and 6, 40,930 Villages.  Total Population The total population of India at 0.00 hours of 1st March 2011 is 1210.6 million. India’s population accounts for 17.5 per cent of world population. The country’s population is almost equal to the populations of the U.S., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together. Out of the total increase of 182 million added in the last decade, the contribution of rural and urban areas is equal (91.0 million each). The absolute addition is slightly lower than the population of Brazil, the fifth most populous country in the world. This makes 2001-2011 as the first decade with the exception of 1911-1921 which has actually added lesser population compared to the previous decade. The rural population is 833.5 million and the urban population 377.1 million. The rural population constitutes 68.8% and urban population 31.2% of the total population. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous State with 199 million people followed by Maharashtra at 112 million people and Lakshadweep is the least populated at 64,429 persons. Uttar Pradesh has the largest rural population of 155.3 million (18.6% of the country's rural population). Maharashtra has the highest urban population of 50.8 million (13.5% of country's urban population) in the country. Himachal Pradesh (90.0%) has the largest proportion of rural population. Delhi (97.5%) has the highest proportion of urban population. Thane of Maharashtra is the most populated District in India. Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, is the least populated District in India. Growth Rate The growth rate of population in India in the last decade is 17.7% (Rural - 12.3%; Urban - 31.8%). Meghalaya (27.2%) has recorded the highest decadal growth rate in rural population. Daman & Diu (218.8 %) recorded the highest decadal growth rate in urban population during 2001-2011. Population Density Population density in Census 2011 works out to be 382 showing an increase of 57 points from 2001. Delhi (11,320) turns out to be the most densely inhabited followed by Chandigarh (9,258) among all States/UTs, both in 2001 and 2011 Census. Among the major States, Bihar occupies the first position with a density of 1106, surpassing West Bengal which occupied the first position during 2001. The minimum population density works out in Arunachal Pradesh (17) for both Censuses. Among districts in India, highest density district is North East Delhi (37,346 per Sq KM) and lowest density district is Dibang of Arunachal Pradesh (1 per Sq KM). Sex Ratio  The Sex Ratio in the country which was 933 in 2001 has increased by 7 points to 940 in 2011. In rural areas, the sex ratio has increased from 946 to 949. The corresponding increase in urban areas has been by 29 points from 900 to 929. Kerala has recorded the highest sex ratio (1084) in respect of total population. Daman and Diu recorded the lowest sex ratio (618) among States and UTs. The lowest sex ratio in rural areas has been recorded in Chandigarh (690). The corresponding value in urban areas has been returned in Daman & Diu (551). Child Population  The child population in the age group of 0-6 years stands at 164.5 million. Compared to Census 2001, the Child population has increased by 0.7 million in the country. The growth rate of child population works out to 0.4% in the last decade. However, there has been a decline of 4.1% in rural areas and an increase of 15.6% in urban areas. Census 2011 marks a considerable fall in child sex ratio (0-6 years) from 927 to 919 (-8 points) during 2001-2011. This is the lowest sex ratio since 1961. Scheduled Caste Population The total Scheduled Caste population returned in Census 2011 is 201.4 million. The Scheduled Caste population constitutes 16.6 % of the total population. The highest proportion of Scheduled Castes has been recorded in Punjab (31.9 %) and the lowest in Mizoram (0.1%). The highest number of Scheduled Castes has been recorded in Uttar Pradesh (41.4 million) and the lowest in Mizoram (1,218). Scheduled Tribe Population  The total Scheduled Tribe population returned in Census 2011 is 104.3 million. The Scheduled Tribe population constitutes 8.6 % of the total population. The highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes has been recorded in Lakshadweep (94.8 %) and the lowest in Uttar Pradesh (0.6%). The highest number of Scheduled Tribes has been recorded in Madhya Pradesh (15.3 million) and the lowest in Daman & Diu (15,363). Literacy Rate The number of literates in India is 763.5 million in Census 2011. Literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 per cent in 2001 to 74.04 per cent, showing an increase of 9.21 percentage points. The literacy rate for males and females works out to 82.14 per cent and 65.46 per cent respectively. The increase in literacy rate in males and females during 2001-2011 is in the order of 6.88 and 11.79 percentage points respectively. The highest number of rural literates has been recorded in Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of literates in urban areas. In percentage terms male literates were 56.9% of the total literates and the female literates were 43.1 % of the total literates. Kerala has the highest literacy rate (93.91) followed by Lakshadweep (92.28). Bihar has the least literacy rate (63.82) and least goes to Arunachal Pradesh (66.95) Undivided Andhra Pradesh Census 2011 The following census of Andhra Pradesh is of the undivided State prior to the formation of Telangana: Andhra Pradesh has population of 8.46 crore, an increase from 7.62 crore in 2001 census. The population of Andhra Pradesh forms 6.99 percent of India in 2011. The total population growth in this decade was 10.98 percent while in previous decade it was 13.86 percent. Density of Andhra Pradesh is 308 per sq km which is lower than national average 382 per sq km. In 2001, density of Andhra Pradesh was 277 per sq km, while nation average in 2001 was 324 per sq km. The Sex Ratio in Andhra Pradesh is 993 much better than the national average of 940. Literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh is 67.02 percent while male literacy stands at 74.88 percent and female literacy is at 58.68 percent.

DETAILS OF TELANGANA STATE POPULATION

TELANGANA ECONOMIC DATA

Economy Snippets

NABARD was established under recommendations of	Shivaraman Committee
The chairman of Fourteenth Finance Commission	Y.V. Reddy
Banks of India were nationalised for the first time in the year	1969
The main aim of devaluation is to	Encourage exports
What is the tertiary sector of economic development	Service Sector?
Which state of India has highest Per capita income	Goa
RBI was nationalised in the year	1935
National Agriculture Insurance Scheme was introduced in	1999
Short term finance is usually for a period of	12 months
Who is the regulator of Insurance sector in India	IRDA
Who is the Census Commissioner for Census 2011?	C. Chandramouli
The main rubber producing state in the country is	Kerala
The largest producer of Coffee in the country is	Karnataka
At present, the number of nationalised banks in the country	19
Project SANKALP is associated with the elimination of	AIDS
The central banking functions in India are performed by the	Reserve Bank of India
Development expenditure of the Central government does not include	Defence expenditure
Gilt-edged market means	Market of Government Securities
Loss of equipment over time due to wear and tear is called as	Depreciation
The association of the rupee with Pound Sterling as the intervention currency was broken in	1992
On July 12, 1982, the ARDC was merged into	NABARD
If the Cash Reserve Ratio is lowered by the RBI, its impact on credit creation will be to	Increase it
In the state of India, the State Financial Corporation have given assistance mainly to develop	Small and medium scale industries
States earn maximum revenue through	Commercial Taxes
The first Indian private company to sign an accord with Government of Myanmar for oil exploration in two offshore blocks in that country is	Essar Oil
The condition of indirect taxes in the country's revenue is approximately	86%
The Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) came into existence in	1987
Of the gross tax revenue of the Union Government the indirect taxes account for nearly	65 percent
The banks are required to maintain a certain ratio between their cash in the hand and total assets. This is called as	Statutory Liquid Ratio (SLR)
How many banks were nationalized in 1969?	14
In India, the first bank of limited liability manages by Indians and founded in 1881 was	Oudh Commercial Bank
The apex body for formulating plans and coordinating research work in agriculture and allied fields is	Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Short-term finance is usually for a period ranging up to	One year
Paper currency first started in India in	1861
Foreign Direct Investment ceilings in the telecom sector have been raised from 74 percent to	100%
The largest sponge iron producer in the world is	India
National Rural Development Institute is situated at	Hyderabad
The bank which has the highest number of branches in the world is	SBI
The Mumbai Stock Exchange was set up in	1875
Rangarajan Committee is related to	Public Sector disinvestment
Raja Chellaiah Committee is related to	Tax Reforms
Malhotra Committee is related to	Insurance Sector Reforms
Narasimham Committee is related to	Financial Sector Reforms
The principle means of transport of goods in India is	Railways
India's place in the World Production of Sugar and Sugarcane is	First
State with Highest Production of Wheat (2011-12) is	Uttar Pradesh
State with Highest Production of Rice (2011-12) is	West Bengal
State with Highest Production of Pulses (2011-12) is	Madhya Pradesh
State with Highest Production of Total Food Grains (2011-12) is	Uttar Pradesh
State with Highest Production of total Oil Seeds (2011-12) is	State with Highest Production of total Oil Seeds (2011-12) is
The policy of Family Planning was adopted by the government in	1952
Bank Rate means	The official rate of interest charged by the central bank of the country
The term MARKET in economics means	Presence of competition
Commercial banking system in India is	Branch banking
Demand of commodity mainly depends on	Power to purchase
CMD of Bharatiya Mahila Bank is	Usha Ananthasubramanian
Mr. Cyrus Pallonji Mistry took over as the chairman of which industrial group recently?	Tata Group

Expected Questions from Railway Budget 2014-15

1.The union railway budget 2014-15 was presented on 8th July 2014. Who presented this budget ?

Ans : Sadanand Gowda

2.As per the Railway Budget 2014-15, how many new Express Trains will be introduced ?
Ans : 27 Trains

3.What is the revenue estimate from freight operations as proposed in the Rail Budget 2014-15 ?
Ans : Rs. 105, 770 Crore

4.What is the revenue estimate from passenger operations as proposed in the Rail Budget of 2014- 15 ?
Ans : Rs. 44,645 Crore

5.India’s first bullet train has been proposed to be run on which rail sector as announced in the Rail Budget 2014-15 ?
Ans : Ahmedabad-Mumbai sector

6.How many women constables will be recruited to ensure safety of Women ?
Ans : 4000

7.What is the operating ratio of Indian Railways as announced in the Rail Budget 2014-15 ?
Ans : 94 paise

8.What is the name given to the ambitious high speed rail network that has been proposed in the Rail Budget of 2014-15 ?
Ans : Diamond Quadrilateral

9.In how many years Indian Railways would be made paperless as proposed in the Rail Budget 2014-15 ?
Ans : 5 years

10.As mentioned by the Railway Budget 2014-15, recent fare and tariff hike will mop additional revenue of about ?
Ans : Rs. 8,000 crore

11.The Railway Budget 2014-15 announced Special Train featuring life and work of ?
Ans : Swami Vivekananda

12.The Railway Budget 2014-15 announced the setting up of “Diamond Quadrilateral Network” of High Speed Rail to connect
Ans : Major metros and growth centers of the country

13.Union Railway Budget 2014-15 introduced UBRD to detect problem in track. Expand UBRD ?
Ans : Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System

14.For the safety of passengers, how many RPF
(Railway Protection Force) constables will be appointed ?
Ans : 17000

15.The Railway Budget of 2014-15 mentioned ‘Decade of Golden Dilemma’. What does it mean ?
Ans : Dilemma of choosing between commercial and social viability

16.How many sectors for proposed high-speed trainswere proposed in the Rail Budget 2014-15 ?
Ans : Nine

17.How many new train services were proposed in the Rail Budget 2014-15 ?
Ans : 58

18.Runs of how many existing trains were extended in the Rail Budget 2014-15 ?
Ans : Eleven

19.The budget allocation for cleanliness at railway stations has been increased by ?
Ans : 40%

20.What will be the estimated Growth in passenger traffic during 2014-15 as per the Railway Budget 2014-15
Ans : 2 Per Cent

Rangarajan Report on Poverty

The Expert Group under the Chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan to Review the Methodology for Measurement of Poverty in the country constituted by the Planning Commission in June 2012 has submitted its report on 30^th June 2014. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Planning, Statistics and Programme Implementation and Defence Shri Rao Inderjit Singh has said that as per the report, poverty line is estimated as Monthly Per Capita Expenditure of Rs. 1407 in urban areas and Rs. 972 in rural areas. The highlights of the report are:

i.The Expert Group (Tendulkar) had used the all-India urban poverty line basket as the reference to derive state-level rural and urban poverty. This was a departure from the earlier practice of using two separate poverty line baskets for rural and urban areas. The Expert Group (Rangarajan) reverts to the practice of having separate all-India rural and urban poverty basket lines and deriving state-level rural and urban estimates from these.

ii.The Expert Group (Tendulkar) had decided not to anchor the poverty line to the then available official calorie norms used in all poverty estimations since 1979 as it found a poor correlation between food consumed and nutrition outcomes. However , on a review of  subsequent research,  the Expert Group (Rangarajan) took a considered view that  deriving the food component of the Poverty Line Basket  by reference to the  simultaneous satisfaction of all three nutrient -norms would be appropriate when seen in conjunction with the emphasis on a full range of policies and programmes for child-nutrition support and on  public provisioning of a range of public goods and services aimed at the amelioration of  the disease-environment facing the population.

iii. Estimates of consumption expenditure seen in the National Accounts Statistics and as inferred from the sample surveys of the National Sample Survey Organisation show a large and growing variance. The Expert Group (Rangarajan) prefers NSSO’s estimates and decides not to use the NAS estimates. This is in line with the approach taken by Expert Group (Lakdawala) and Expert Group (Tendulkar).

iv. The capture of spatial and temporal variation in prices in estimating the State-level and rural-urban poverty levels (given all-India rural and urban estimates) has undergone substantial refinement since 1979. The Expert Group (Rangarajan) agrees with the methodology adopted by the Expert Group (Tendulkar) in this regard. This overcomes the limitations of using fixed base-year weights by using a combination of unit values derived from successive NSSO’s Consumer Expenditure Surveys and price-relatives derived from the Consumer Price Indices.

v. Public expenditure on social services has increased substantially in recent years. These expenses are not captured, by design, in the NSSO’s Consumer Expenditure Surveys and the poverty line derived from these is thus lower than the services actually consumed.

vi. The Expert Group (Rangarajan) is of the considered view that the deployment of criteria other than consumption expenditure in the measurement of poverty raises several issues regarding measurement and aggregation and that these render such exercises impractical. However, the Expert Group (Rangarajan) has considered an alternate view in estimating the poverty line by reference to the ability of households to save.

2. The Methodology recommended by the Expert Group (Rangarajan) for estimation of poverty is as follows:

i. The poverty line should be based on certain normative levels of adequate nourishment, clothing, house rent, conveyance and education, and a behaviorally determined level of other non-food expenses.

ii. The Expert Group (Rangarajan) computed the average requirements of calories, proteins and fats based on ICMR norms differentiated by age, gender and activity for all-India rural and urban regions to derive the normative levels of nourishment. Accordingly, the energy requirement works out to 2,155 kcal per person per day in rural areas and 2,090 kcal per person per day in urban areas.  For reasons elaborated in the text , the Expert  Group ( Rangarajan)  views the Calorie norm not as a single number but as an average in a band of     +/- 10 per cent of these values and  with intakes even at  the lower end still being  adequate enough to not adversely affect health and work.

iii.The protein and fat requirements have been estimated on the same lines as for energy. These requirements are 48 gms and 28 gms per capita per day, respectively, in rural areas; and 50 gms and 26 gms per capita per day in urban areas.

iv.A food basket that simultaneously meets all the normative requirements of the three nutrients defines the food component of the poverty line basket proposed by the Expert Group (Rangarajan). These nutrient norms are met for persons located in the sixth fractile (25-30%) in rural areas and for those in the fourth fractile (15-20%) in urban areas in 2011-12.

The average monthly per capita consumption expenditure on food in these fractile classes is Rs.554 in rural areas and Rs.656 in urban areas (NSS 68^th Round).

v.The median fractile (45-50%) values of clothing expenses, rent, conveyance and education expenses are treated as the normative requirements of the basic non-food expenses of clothing, housing, mobility and education of a poverty line basket. This works out to Rs.141 per capita per month in rural areas and Rs.407 in urban areas. The observed expenses of all other non-food expenses of the fractile classes that meet the nutrition requirements are considered as part of the poverty line basket. This works out to Rs.277 per capita per month in rural areas and Rs.344 in urban areas.

vi. The new poverty line thus work out to monthly per capita consumption expenditure of Rs.972 in rural areas and Rs.1,407 in urban areas in 2011-12. For a family of five, this translates into a monthly consumption expenditure of Rs.4,860 in rural areas and Rs.7,035 in urban areas.

vii.Estimations of the poverty line made for the Expert Group (Rangarajan) based on an independent large survey of households by CMIE and using a different methodology wherein a household is considered poor if it is unable to save, yields results that are remarkably close to those derived using the NSSO data. This provides additional evidence in support of the poverty line derived by the Expert Group (Rangarajan).

viii.             Compared to the poverty lines based on the methodology of the Expert Group (Tendulkar), the poverty lines estimated by the Expert Group (Rangarajan) are 19% and 41% higher in rural and urban areas, respectively. The Expert Group (Rangarajan) uses the Modified Mixed Recall Period consumption expenditure data of the NSSO as these are considered to be more precise compared to the MRP, which was used by the Expert Group (Tendulkar) and the URP, which was used by earlier estimations. 67% of the increase in the rural poverty line and 28% of the increase in the urban poverty line is because of the shift from MRP to MMRP.

ix.The national rural and urban poverty lines computed as above were used to derive the state-wise poverty lines by using the implicit price derived from the quantity and value of consumption observed in the NSSO’s 68^th Round of Consumer Expenditure Survey (2011-12) to estimate state relative to all-India Fisher price indices. Using these and the state-specific distribution of persons by expenditure groups (NSS), state-specific ratios of rural and urban poverty were estimated. State-level poverty ratio was estimated as weighted average of the rural and urban poverty ratios and the national poverty ratio was computed again as the population-weighted average of state-wise poverty ratios.

x.The Expert Group (Rangarajan) therefore estimates that the 30.9% of the rural population and 26.4% of the urban population was below the poverty line in 2011-12. The all-India ratio was 29.5%. In rural India, 260.5 million individuals were below poverty and in urban India 102.5 million were under poverty. Totally, 363 million were below poverty in 2011-12.

xi.The poverty ratio has declined from 39.6% in 2009-10 to 30.9% in 2011-12 in rural India and from 35.1% to 26.4% in urban India. The decline was thus a uniform 8.7 percentage points over the two years. The all-India poverty ratio fell from 38.2% to 29.5%. Totally, 91.6 million individuals were lifted out of poverty during this period.

xii.The Expert Group (Rangarajan) recommends the updation of the poverty line in the future using the Fisher Index. The weighting diagram for this effort can be drawn from the NSSO’s Consumer Expenditure Survey. For the Food –group, the Expert Group (Rangarajan) recommends that the current practice of relying on the unit values derivable from the NSSO Consumer Expenditure Surveys should continue till such time a new CPI of CSO with a weighting diagram based on the 2011-12 pattern of consumption becomes available. In respect of non-food- items, the price indices available in the exiting CSO Consumer Price Indices can be used in the construction of   requisite Fisher indices. Once the new series of Consumer Price Index numbers (with 2011-12 as the base year) become available, it may be used if the extent of change in the structure of consumption at that point in time relative to the 2011-12 structure of consumption is not very different.