Between 1977-78 and 1999-2000, the proportion of people living below the poverty line fell from 51.3 per cent to 26.1 per cent; over the same period, the absolute number of poor people fell from about 330 million to about 260 million, a number that is still sizable.
In 200103, for instance, India’s per capita income was equivalent to only 9 per cent of the global average and 2 per cent of the per capita income of the high income countries. With more than half of the people still dependent on agriculture, a key area of concern is that agricultural growth remains low and continues to be monsoon-dependent.