The concept of poverty line is used to measure poverty in a country. The people who are living below the poverty line are called as poor.

Poverty line signifies a sum that is needed by a person to meet his minimum consumption needs per month. In other words, by poverty line we mean that sum which is required by a person monthly to meet his minimum needs (food, clothing, housing, education and health, etc.).

Limits of Poverty line in India—In their book “Poverty in India”, V.M. Dandekar and Nilkanth Rath are of the opinion that all those who do not get food worth 2,250 calories are to be considered as poor. In order to get food worth 2,250 calories, the per capita monthly income in the rural areas and the urban areas must be ₹ 15 and ₹ 22.5 respectively at 1960-61 prices.

The Planning Commission has defined the poverty line on the basis of the recommended nutritional intake of 2,400 calories per person per day for rural areas and 2,100 calories per person per day for urban areas. On this basis, in rupee terms, the poverty line works out at ₹ 1407 per head per month for rural areas and ₹ 972 per head per month for urban areas both at the 2013-14 prices. 21.9 per cent of population was below poverty line in India during 2011-12.