Passage - 2

The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of ‘who is poor’ and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances—to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.

Why is the methodology adopted in India to count the ‘poor’ debatable?

The correct option is: "It is based on the proposition of poverty as meagre income or buying capacity."

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Analyze the Question:
The question asks why the methodology adopted in India to count the "poor" is considered debatable, based on the provided passage.

2. Analyze the Passage:
Let us look at the opening lines of the passage:
"The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of ‘who is poor’ and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty."

3. Connecting the Premise to the Correct Option:
The passage explicitly states that the methodology is narrow and debatable because it relies entirely on a single fundamental assumption: defining poverty purely as a lack of sufficient income or purchasing power (buying capacity). This narrow focus overlooks other critical dimensions of human deprivation, social constraints, personal circumstances, and restricted capabilities that limit the choices people have to lead valued lives.

4. Conclusion:
Therefore, the methodology used to count the poor is debatable because it is restricted to the proposition of poverty as merely having meagre income or buying capacity, which aligns perfectly with the correct option.