Measurement of Poverty:

'The approach to study the population in poverty is based on the perceived causes of poverty based  on  various types of deprivations. These can be in the realm of physiological needs, economic and sociological  needs.  These needs are  mostly interrelated and can also be  termed as the vicious circle of poverty. People are poor because they lack income, food, clothing and shelter and they cannot improve their skills and  income earning capacity as they lack the essential needs for survival. The income  and  basic needs  concepts of  poverty  focus  on  physiological  deprivations.

However, the concept of poverty needs to be wider to include all other deprivations. Accordingly, it  is important to focus on  increasing the  income/consumption of  the poor and their attainment  of basic needs, such as health and education.