The three dimensional attack on poverty adopted by the govern-ment has not succeded in poverty alleviation in India. Comment.

The government's approach to poverty reduction is of three dimensions:
I. The first one is the growth-oriented approach. It is based on the expectation that the effects of economic growth - rapid increase in gross domestic product and per capita income -would spreed to all sections of society and will trickle down to the poorer sections. This was the major focus of planning in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was felt that rapid industrial development and transformation of agriculture through green revolution in select regions would benefit the underdeveloped regions.
II. The second approach has been initiated from the third five year plan (1961-1966) that suggests that incomes and employment for the poor could be raised through the creation of incremental assets and by means of work generation. This could be achieved through specific poverty alleviation programme. The examples based on this approach are:

(a) Food for work programme: Minimum food was ensured to workers and their families instead of money under this programme.

(c) Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojna : The educated unemployed from low income families in rural and urban areas can get financial help to set up any kind of enterprise that generates employment under this programme.

(d) Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojna : It mainly aims at creating employment opportunities both of self-employment and wage-employment in urban areas.

(e) National Food for work Programme and Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojna : These programmes aim at generating wage employment for the poor unskilled people living in rural areas.

(f) In August 2005, the Parliament has passed a New Act to provide guaranted wage employment to every household whose adult volunteer to do unskilled manual work for a minimum of 100 days in a year. This Act is known as National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 2005.

III. The third approach to tackle poverty is to provide minimum basic amenities to the people. Programmes under this approach are expected to supplement the consumption of the poor, create employment opportunities and bring about improvement in health and education. Three major programmes that aim at improving the food and nutritional status of the poor are Public Distribution System, Integrated child Development Scheme and Mid-day Meal Scheme.