STATUS OF URBAN POVERTY IN INDIA

Urbanization is a natural consequence of economic changes that take place in a country, which contributes to population development. Nearly twenty eight out of every hundred persons in India live in urban areas. Poverty and lack of employment in the villages lead to migration from rural to urban areas. Increasing industrialization in any country has contributed to the growth of new towns. The growth of urban population in India has brought so many problems including poverty. Urban poverty has a serious impact on economic growth in India. The reasons behind urban poverty are improper training of the people, growing population, slower rate of growth of jobs and failure of Public Distribution System (PDS). Urban poverty alleviation is a challenging task before the government. To reduce the urban poverty, state governments have primary responsibility for planning and initiating programmes like the Urban Basic Services for the poor, the Environmental Improvements of Urban slums. It is time to accelerate the efforts to alleviate urban poverty in major states with high levels of urban poverty through effective strategies to address the root causes of urban poverty.