Income distribution, growth and basic needs in India / by R. Sinha...[et.al.] c.1

India presents the world's greatest poverty problem, with many millions not receiving adequate means of subsistence at even the most basic level. This book explores the sources and patterns of the distribution of personal incomes in India, between rural and urban areas and among socio-economic classes, differentiating particularly those groups falling below the poverty line.

A macro-economic model is presented in which the distribution of incomes is derived from the structure of incomes generated in 77 individual production sectors. The income distribution in turn influences expenditure patterns and levels of living. This process of feed-back between expenditure patterns and the distribution of incomes is the core of the analysis.

The model is then used to simulate a variety of developments and policies and considers their implications for the distribution of incomes and the position of the poverty groups, as well as for output and employment. The policies simulated include income transfers from rich to poor, a variety of sectoral growth strategies and growth-with-distribution through income injections to the target groups. The policy implications of these simulations are discussed in the context of currently adopted policies and contemporary debates on policy issues in India.