Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said gauging poverty is a "difficult task" as there are diverse views on the definition. "Measuring poverty is a difficult task. There are diverse views about what constitutes poverty.
The controversy erupted after Planning Commission said persons spending over Rs 33.33 a day in cities and Rs 27.20 in villages are not poor. Based on this, Commission concluded that the poverty ratio in the country declined to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05.
"Draw the line anywhere at two dollars, at three dollars and then, what was the population below that line 10 years ago, what is the population below that line today...The difference is about 140 million people," Chidambaram had said.
