INDIAN GOVT'S DEFINITION OF POVERTY LINE - A JOKE ??

Unofficial estimates put 77% of Indian population living BPL ( BELOW THE POVERTY LINE ). 

However earlier this month (May 2011), India's Planning Commission, which helps sets economic policy, told the Supreme Court that DUE TO LIMITED RESOURCES , the poverty line for the nation's cities was being revised to 578 rupees ($12.75) per person a month — or 2,312 rupees ($51.38) for a family of four. And for rural India, it's even lower at about 450 rupees ($9.93). The World Bank global poverty line, at $1.25 a day or about $38 per month, is three times higher than India's urban level. 

Using the Planning commission's poverty line, 37 percent of India's 1.2 billion people still qualify as poor . So imagine if the Govt folows the World Banks criteria - it could be 77% or more  . 

A committee under Arjun Sengupta had in 2007 estimated that poor and vulnerable people in India made up 77 per cent of the population.

If the Govt isnt trying to hide the reality and a true measure of its failure , let us all  ask ourselves what is the purpose of redefining “below the poverty line “ for Indians to below Sub- Saharan levels !!.

And also let us ALL ask ourselves : 

IS INDIA SHINING ? as is being projected in the Indian media  .

Is it lack of resources that 77% of Indians live BPL( below poverty line ) ???. Then what about the

country's assets worth billions of dollars that are being given away cheaply  or being siphoned away   by our politicians and corporates . 98000crore airindia scam, 130,000crore spectrum scam, 70,000crore cwg scam ; 98000 crore airport land scam , 200,000 crore s-band  scam .  Add to this  the write-off figures in the Indian budget since 2005-06 totalling  Rs.21,25,023 crore (ref-from the hindu ), which is the hidden but largest conceivable transfer of wealth and resources to the wealthy and the corporate world that the media never look at till date . India is also losing nearly Rs.240 crores every 24 hours, on average, in illegal financial flows out of the country(GFI report), but the Govt does not want to take action on same  , inspite of the resource crunch thay are talking about . Why ??? .

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And finally , is India a DEMOCRACY or OLIGARCHY ?