H man Development in ndia            20.5
           (ii) In households with toilets, women                  (i) Review the family planning program
                 reported far greater use—showing greater               and re-orient it in such a way that it is
                 need. Studies have found preference                    aligned with reproductive health rights of
                 for households to defecate in the open                 women, and needs of India’s population.
                 because of a variety of factors (caste and       (ii) Increase budgets for quality services,
                 soak pit latrines, especially). As per the             static family planning clinics and quality
                 ‘rapid study’, patterns of toilet usage are            monitoring and supervision.
                 better for women than men (this was also
                                                                 (iii) Address youth needs, induct more
                 confirmed by the NSSO Survey of 2016).
                                                                        counsellors for sexual health, more youth-
         (iii) Women and girls use toilet more than
                                                                        friendly services, and adequate supply of
                 their male counterparts—across rural and
                                                                        spacing methods.
                 urban households. This pattern of toilet
                 usage suggests a very important thing—
                 women and girl-children could play a
                                                                PoVertY estIMAtes
                 key leadership role in Swachh Bharat’s      Since India commenced the process of economic
                 objective of creating defecation free       reforms, a major shift has taken place in the
                 communities (by nudging men and boys        country’s poliy-orientation towards poverty
                 of the household to change their own        alleviation and employment generation—in
                 defecation behaviours).                     place of wage employment, the focus has shifted
          (iv) Women did show positive behavioural           to self-employment – so that ‘gainful employment’
                 patterns after getting access to sanitation could be created and poverty could be alleviated
                 services. Again, if these services are      permanently10.
                 denied, they face considerable insecurity
                                                                   The Planning Commission used to estimate
                 and nutritional risks.
                                                             poverty using data from the large sample surveys
            For the reason cited above, ensuring safe and    on household consumer expenditure carried out
     adequate sanitation—the objectives of Swachh            by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)
     Bharat—is becoming a serious policy issue—after         every five years. It defines poverty line on the basis
     all it is linked to the ‘fundamental right to privacy’. of monthly per capita consumption expenditure
                                                             (MPCE). The methodology for estimation of
     the fAllouts of PoPulAtion Policy
                                                             poverty followed by the Planning Commission
     The negative fallouts of pursuing a population          has been based on the recommendations made
     policy that largely focuses on birth control also       by experts in the field from time to time—the
     contributes to declining child sex ratios—if            recent estimates based on the recommendations
     every family is to have fewer children, there is a      of the Expert Group headed by Prof. Suresh D.
     greater anxiety that at least one of them should
                                                             Tendulkar which submitted its report in December
     be male. In this instance, there may be a case for
                                                             2009.
     the government to undo as much as to do for
     example, by not setting targets expected levels               As per this methodology, poverty estimates
     of achievement (ELA), withdrawing incentives            (NSSO, 68th Round, 2011-12) for the period
     for female sterilisation and for mass camps. In         2004-05 to 2011-12 are as given below:
     addition, the Economic Survey 2014–15 suggested           10.    Economic Survey, 1999–2000, Ministry of MoF, GoI,
     the following actions to the government:                         N. Delhi.