The "Poverty ascent and descent" article by Abdul Bayes, published on March 20, 2018 issue of FE, is both moving and thought-provoking. Poverty is a multidimensional concept, which involves reduction in choices to pursue freedom. So is hunger. Finally, poverty has a bearing on choices and the well-being of individuals in a society. The poor also own fewer assets and spend more on food, fuel, and light. This reduces the percentage they have for spending on critical things like education and health, and it makes them prone to a vicious poverty trap. What we need is to translate the success in ease of doing business into labour-intensive business enterprises such as farming, cottage industry, micro units and tourism.
Vinod C. Dixit
B-15 Jyot-Kalash Society,
Jodhpur Tekra, S.M. Road,
Ahmedabad-380 015