--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In India, about half of all poor…" description: "\"“In India, about half of all poor households do not have a BPL (below-poverty-line) card and about one-third of the non-poor (under the rules) have one..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/guy-standing-4017_family_in-india-about-half-of-all-poor-househol_2438512.jpg" --- # In India, about half of all poor households do not have a… ![“In India, about half of all poor households do not have a BPL (below-poverty-line) card and about one-third of the non-poor (under the rules) have one.5 A study in the Indian state of Karnataka found that more than two-thirds of those questioned who were ineligible for BPL cards (for example…” quote by Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/guy-standing-4017_family_in-india-about-half-of-all-poor-househol_2438512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/guy-standing-4017_family_in-india-about-half-of-all-poor-househol_2438512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/guy-standing-4017_family_in-india-about-half-of-all-poor-househol_2438512.jpg) > ““In India, about half of all poor households do not have a BPL (below-poverty-line) card and about one-third of the non-poor (under the rules) have one.5 A study in the Indian state of Karnataka found that more than two-thirds of those questioned who were ineligible for BPL cards (for example, owning a water pump) in fact had them, while a sixth of those eligible for the cards did not.6 Research in Gujarat, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh showed that a large proportion of those in dire need did not have BPL cards or were denied them for some spurious reason.7 Often the poorest were least likely to have them. Targeting also creates poverty traps, with accompanying moral and immoral hazards. If a household obtains a benefit only if it is classified as poor, then it pays to stay poor. Increasing income to just above the poverty level means losing more than the extra earnings. So, there is a disincentive to earn extra. This moral hazard prompts the immoral hazard. Someone gaining a little more income will have an incentive to conceal it, so as not to lose entitlement to the benefit.”” [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how means‑tested welfare creates perverse incentives, causing eligible poor to lack benefits while ineligible non‑poor obtain them, and discourages income growth due to fear of losing aid. **In simple terms:** Means‑tested aid can trap people in poverty and encourage concealment of income. Key Takeaway Design welfare that avoids disincentives and ensures fair access. Themes poverty traps policy design social welfare incentives inequality Mood concerned analytical critical Type policy analytical critical When to use this quote - government aid programs - NGO outreach - community surveys - policy reform - income reporting Key Concepts targeting moral hazard immoral hazard benefit cliff Questions to Reflect On - How can welfare be structured to encourage upward mobility? - What safeguards prevent abuse while protecting the needy? A Different Perspective If benefits are too tightly linked to poverty status, people may hide earnings, reducing program effectiveness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bpl Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bpl-poverty-465817/) [Creates Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creates-poverty-465821/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Ineligible Bpl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ineligible-bpl-465823/) [Poor Households](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-households-465825/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Traps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-traps-465819/) ## Related quotes > [Means-tested benefits have one incredible feature in that they impose huge poverty traps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/means-tested-benefits-have-one-incredible-feature-in-that-they-impose/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [Affluence creates poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/affluence-creates-poverty/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [When work is not underpinned by social protection, people risk falling into poverty traps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharan-burrow/when-work-is-not-underpinned-by-social-protection-people-risk-falling/) [Sharan Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharan-burrow/) > [“Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/hence-a-wealth-of-information-creates-a-poverty-of-attention/) [Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/) > [“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-3/) [Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/) > [A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-wealth-of-information-creates-a-poverty-of-attention/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [“In places where government priorities and market imperatives create a world so capricious that to help a neighbor is to risk your ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/in-places-where-government-priorities-and-market-imperatives-create-a/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. 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Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [Give me, indulgent gods with mind serene, And guiltless heart, to range the sylvan scene, No splendid poverty, no smiling care, No well-bred hate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/give-me-indulgent-gods-with-mind-serene-and-guiltless-heart-to-range/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) ## More by Guy Standing > [“The ethical and philosophical justifications for basic income – social justice, freedom and economic security – have been well established. They are embedded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-ethical-and-philosophical-justifications-for-basic-income-social/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [What we can say with confidence is that the technological revolution is worsening inequality, due mostly to mechanisms that limit free markets. 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Targeting also creates poverty traps, with accompanying moral and immoral hazards. If a household obtains a benefit only if it is classified as poor, then it pays to stay poor. Increasing income to just above the poverty level means losing more than the extra earnings. So, there is a disincentive to earn extra. This moral hazard prompts the immoral hazard. 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