The Situation in India

Till date, India remains as the country with the largest number of poor people.
About 350 million of people are below the poverty line, and that is about
one third of its one billion population. More than 40 percent of the population
is illiterate, and is probably due to the rapid increase of population growth,
faster as compared to economic growth. However, experts say that this is a
symptom of poverty rather than a cause.

The other problem with poverty in India is the caste system, which means that
Indians whose parents have no social status, have their future bleak and
would likely have the same fate as their parents.

Current economic status in India:

- low growth rates (Hindu rate of growth)
- closure to trade and investment
- a license-obsessed, restrictive state (License Raj)
- inability to sustain social expenditures
- macro instability

Although throughout the years there have been policies laid out to alleviate the
poverty in India:






The poorest Indians in rural areas earn wages such as US$7 a month.

Furthermore, the over-dependence on agriculture worsens the situation of poverty
in India.

Caption: A rural worker drying cow dung in Bihar, India's poorest state

In recent years, India's economy has shown signs of improvement, however due to the
caste system and economic imbalance, the growth in economy largely, if not totally,
benefits the rich economy, and the poor remains poor.



Hence with such poverty in India, many people are poor and homeless, they
do not have the money to even buy clothes and necessities. Deaths due to the cold
during winter becomes inevitable, and the problem is severe. In February 2003, Nepal
alone has 700 deaths due to a cold wave. Hence it is vital to come up with a
cheap and effective way to help the citizens of India to overcome the winter.




References
http://www.indiaonestop.com/povertyindia.htm
http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=19201
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India#India.27s_