[Answered] The calorie-based poverty estimation in India overlooks significant food deprivation. Critically analyze the limitations of this approach and evaluate the ‘thali index’ as a more effective metric for assessing food security and poverty.

Introduction

Traditional poverty measures in India rely on calorie norms, yet persistent food insecurity remains. The ‘thali index’ offers a culturally grounded, consumption-based alternative to assess nutritional deprivation and poverty more accurately.

Limitations of Calorie-Based Poverty Estimation

1. Narrow Physiological Approach: Calorie-based poverty lines, like the 2,100 kcal (urban) and 2,400 kcal (rural) thresholds, focus only on energy intake, ignoring nutrition quality, satisfaction, and diversity in diets.
2. Outdated Consumption Patterns: These standards stem from 1970s NSSO data, when manual labour was predominant. Today, caloric needs vary, with sedentary jobs and aging populations requiring different standards.
3. Disconnection from Actual Consumption: Households often spend on housing, education, transport, and health. Food becomes the residual, leading to inadequate diets despite being technically above the poverty line.
4. Lack of Cultural Sensitivity: Calorie counting treats all food equally. A slice of pizza and a bowl of khichdi may be calorically similar but differ vastly in nutrition, cost, and cultural value.
5. Policy Misalignment: Over-reliance on calorie poverty metrics leads to underestimation of actual deprivation, undermining welfare targeting. Recent estimates by SBI (4.8% rural poverty) and World Bank (2.8% rural) understate food insecurity.

The Thali Index: A More Grounded Metric

1. Culturally Rooted and Nutritionally Holistic: The thali—comprising cereals, pulses, vegetables, and condiments—is a socially recognized, nutritionally complete meal. Using its cost as a benchmark integrates both caloric and dietary diversity considerations.
2. Real-Time, Regionally Sensitive Data: As calculated by CRISIL, the thali index uses ingredient price data across regions, offering granular, updated assessments unlike infrequent NSSO surveys.
3. Highlights Food Deprivation Hidden by Averages: A 2023–24 study using NSO consumption data found:

• 40% rural and 10% urban Indians could not afford two thalis a day.
• This contrasts sharply with low official poverty estimates.

1. Better Subsidy Targeting: Current food subsidies benefit higher-income groups disproportionately. The thali index can help rationalize food subsidies by linking support to actual affordability, increasing equity.
2. Compatible with Calorie Metrics: A vegetarian thali provides approximately 900–1,000 kcal, offering a calorie baseline while also reflecting real-world cost and accessibility.

Policy Implications

• Refinement, not Rejection, of Poverty Lines: Thali-based measures should complement traditional metrics, especially for food security assessment in SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
• Subsidy Reforms: Replace broad-based food subsidies with progressive support structures, enhancing PDS for the lowest quintiles based on thali affordability.
• Dynamic Food Basket Monitoring: Regular tracking of thali costs across regions can inform inflation adjustments, wage revisions, and nutritional policy like POSHAN 2.0.
• National Food Security Act (NFSA) Review: Use thali metrics to revise eligibility and coverage norms under NFSA, ensuring inclusion of nutritionally vulnerable households.

Conclusion

While calorie-based poverty estimation has historical relevance, the thali index better captures modern food insecurity. A culturally relevant, nutrition-aware approach is vital for accurate poverty assessment and inclusive food policy.