Inequality in the ownership pattern of resources is one of the major causes of poverty. Discuss in the context of ‘paradox of poverty’.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Show how unequal ownership of land, capital, skills and natural resources perpetuates poverty, and explain the 'paradox of poverty' — deprivation amid plenty and growth.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain: the 'paradox of poverty' — deprivation persisting amid abundant resources and rapid growth
- Discuss: how unequal ownership of land, capital, human capital and natural resources causes and perpetuates poverty, with a balanced view of other causes
- Way forward: remedies that widen ownership and resolve the paradox
Open with · The paradox of poverty is deprivation amid plenty; its root is who owns resources, which is why Article 39(b) and (c) direct the State to spread ownership and prevent concentration of wealth.
Cover
- Paradox: growth rewards owners of assets; mineral-rich Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh hold some of the poorest districts.
- Access without ownership: multidimensional poverty fell from 29.17% (2013-14) to 11.28% (2022-23) through wider services, not wider ownership.
- Land: small and marginal holders are about 86% of operational holders (Agriculture Census 2015-16); landless labourers stay poorest.
- Gender and caste: women operated only about 11.72% of farm area; many Dalit households are landless.
- Credit and human capital: collateral-based lending and unequal schooling and health pass poverty across generations (poverty-trap flowchart).
- Balance: governance, productivity, health shocks and isolation also cause poverty.
- Way forward: land records, tenancy reform, women's titles, District Mineral Foundation spending, MGNREGA and PMAY assets, universal education and health.
Close with · SDG target 1.4 seeks equal rights for the poor to economic resources and to ownership and control over land; meeting it in the spirit of Article 39 would turn growth into shared ownership.
Add value (verified)
- NITI Aayog's estimates show multidimensional poverty falling steeply between 2013-14 and 2022-23 — a useful contrast between wider access to services and persisting inequality in ownership.24.82 crore Indians escape Multidimensional Poverty in last 9 years — PIB (NITI Aayog), 15 Jan 2024 ↗“Steep decline in Poverty Headcount Ratio from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23.”
- Article 39(b) and (c), Directive Principles: the State shall direct its policy so that ownership and control of material resources subserve the common good and the economic system does not concentrate wealth.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 39 - Legislative Department ↗“(b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good; (c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment”
- Agriculture Census 2015-16: small and marginal holders were about 86% of all operational holders.PIB, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (Release ID 1906888) ↗“As per Agriculture Census 2015-16, small and marginal operational holders constituted about 86 per cent of the total operational holders in the country”
- Agriculture Census 2015-16: female operational holders operated only about 11.72% of the total operated area.Women Farmers in The Country - PIB, 10 December 2021 ↗“As per the information collected in Agriculture Census 2015-16, about 11.72% of the total operated area in the country was operated by female operational holders”
- The MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 introduced section 9B, creating District Mineral Foundations to work for people and areas affected by mining.Introduction of District Mineral Foundation Levy - PIB, Ministry of Mines ↗“The object of the DMF is to work for the interest and benefit of persons, and areas affected by mining related operations.”
- SDG target 1.4 (by 2030): equal rights for the poor and vulnerable to economic resources and to ownership and control over land and other property.Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere - UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (sdgs.un.org) ↗“By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 372words · Minimalist IAS
The paradox of poverty is deprivation amid plenty: resource-rich regions and a fast-growing economy that still hold many poor people. Its root lies less in scarcity than in who owns resources, which is why Article 39(b) and (c) direct the State to distribute ownership of material resources for the common good and prevent concentration of wealth.
The paradox of poverty explained
- Assets decide incomes: growth rewards owners of land, capital and skills; the asset-poor have only their labour to sell.
- Resource curse: the mineral belt of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh holds some of India's poorest districts; minerals are extracted by others and local people are displaced.
- Access without ownership: NITI Aayog estimates multidimensional poverty fell from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, largely through wider services, while ownership of assets stayed narrow.
How unequal ownership causes poverty
- Land: as per the Agriculture Census 2015-16, small and marginal holders form about 86% of all operational holders; landless labourers remain the poorest group.
- Gender: women operated only about 11.72% of the farm area in 2015-16, leaving them without collateral.
- Caste: many Dalit households are landless, so social hierarchy and asset poverty reinforce each other.
- Credit: collateral-based lending excludes the asset-poor and pushes them to moneylenders.
- Human capital: unequal access to good schooling and healthcare passes poverty to the next generation.
- No land or collateral
- Moneylender debt
- Distress sale of assets
- Casual low-wage labour
- Poverty passed to children
A balanced view
- Other causes: weak governance, low productivity, health shocks and regional isolation also keep people poor; ownership is a major cause, not the only one.
Way forward: widening ownership
- Land reform: digitised records, tenancy law that protects both owner and tenant, and titles in women's names.
- Mineral wealth for locals: the District Mineral Foundation, created by the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015, must truly serve people and areas affected by mining.
- Assets and capabilities: MGNREGA and PMAY as asset creation, SHG credit, and universal quality education and health financed by progressive taxation.
SDG target 1.4 asks that by 2030 the poor have equal rights to economic resources and to ownership and control over land and property. Pursued in the spirit of Article 39, it would turn India's growth into shared ownership and end the paradox.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
