Abstract

A number of central, state and local government bodies regularly and collectively, albeit not always concertedly, determine whether households in India are Below the Poverty Line (BPL), and the concurrent benefits they are entitled to receive. The Centre has guidelines that delineate both the means of identification and the number of households to which states can assign BPL status. States adhere and adapt these rules to varying degrees.Variations in state norms and practices for assigning BPL status thus significantly influence the ability of the poor to avail a common bundle of centrally sponsored schemes and programmes.