Country: India

Kamonwan Jaa 11-2

Position Paper for Bharatiya Janata Party
The Poverty in India

The Republic of India won its independence on August 15th 1947, and since then has
been striving to become a more stable, influential political figure within the Global World. In
2010 India attended the Achieving the MDGs by 2015: Policy Action for Human Freedoms
where the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation deliberated on Indias MDGs
report card focusing on malnutrition, maternal survival, child survival, and access to sanitation
(UNDP). Furthermore, on January 2011 India proved to be internationally active by possessing a
nonpermanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.
Indias fast economic growth has raised concerns for environmental sustainability. India
relies heavily on natural resources and also has high population density which makes the country
vulnerable to the effects of climate change, especially in regards to access to clean water.
Although vast improvements have been made only 31% of Indias population uses improved
sanitation (World Fact Book). Improved sanitation and access to clean water is necessary for
both the human population and for agricultural production (UNICEF.org).
Over the past ten years the economy of India has been increasing, making it the fourth largest
economy in purchasing power parity terms. Even with the tremendous growth in the economy
there has still been a slowdown in the GDP growth due to lack of investments. If the investments
increased, India would be able to keep up the decline of poverty. From 2004 to 2009 the poverty
percentage dropped 7.4% in large part because of the investments from various organizations

(World Bank). With continued support from investors the Indian government would be able to
support the 1.2 billion Indians with basic health care and education needs (World Bank).
Although India has had a boom in economic growth this increase in economic development has
often threatened the environment and the preservation of the poor. Millions in India are living in
severe poverty and religious minorities, women, LGBT Indians, and Dalits often times face
harsh discrimination and violence (Amnesty International). Orissa and other resource-rich land
areas force thousands off their land for inadequate compensation. There are many grave human
rights violations which have yet to be resolved such as: an inadequate health care system, sexual
violence, police brutality, poor secondary education, and a weak judicial system. Women and
girls in particular face discrimination, sexual assault, and other forms of violence. Despite the
growing political and economic empowerment minorities such as Christians and Muslims face
harassment and routine violence on account of their faith (Amnesty International).
In respect to the pressing problems India faces such as substantial overpopulation, environmental
degradation, widespread poverty, extreme hunger, pervasive corruption, gender inequality, and
sanitation issues, rapid economic development is fueling India's rise on the world stage. India is
exporting over 307.2 billion dollars worth of goods yearly, however in order to remain a major
player in the world economically, India must overcome these unrelenting problems that have
plagued the nation for generations (World Fact Book).

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/539712a6e4b06a6c9b892bc1/t/539b1fe3e4b0d7588ce6ead8
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http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/28930/understanding-poverty-india.pdf
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/02/05/india-hits-its-u-n-poverty-cutting-target-butmisses-others/

http://mhupa.gov.in/writereaddata/National_Urban_Rental_Housing_Policy_Draft.pdf
https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/modelun/upload/MUN_SP13_India_Position-Paper.pdf