What approach did Dadabhai Naoroji use to calculate the Poverty Line?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. Prisoner menu.
Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the 'Grand Old Man of India,' used the prisoner menu approach to estimate the Poverty Line in colonial India. He calculated the minimum income required for subsistence by analyzing the food intake provided to prisoners, assuming it met basic nutritional needs. Based on this, he estimated that an individual needed ₹16 per year to survive. His method highlighted the economic exploitation under British rule and formed the basis of his Drain Theory, which argued that wealth was being siphoned from India to Britain. This pioneering work laid the foundation for future poverty assessments in India.
Other options :
- Agricultural productivity: Important for economic analysis but not used by Naoroji to define poverty.
- Export-import data: Used in his Drain Theory, but not for calculating the poverty line.
- Industrial output: Not relevant to his poverty estimation method.