Adjustment and the Poor Households: Analysis of an all-India Survey of sample Households

Based on the recently completed MIMAP all-India household survey, this paper presents a unique and detailed poverty profile for both rural and urban India. It draws from the survey data, a variety of indicators which characterise the poor and assess the implication for the design and targeting of future social sector programmes in India. This paper also identifies and maps out various sets of transmission mechanisms linking adjustment and the welfare levels of poor households.