'No reduction in poverty since 1990'

The growth in the economy since the 1990s notwithstanding, there has not been much reduction in poverty levels, for measuring which multi-dimensional efforts are needed, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman, Planning Commission said on Tuesday.

There has not been much reduction of poverty on the ground and there was much to do to achieve the desired level and so poverty alleviation would be the key agenda in the eleventh plan, he told a gathering of economists after

releasing a book, 'The Great Indian Debate', edited by Angus Deaton and Valerie Kozel.

Stressing the need to ascertain the manner in which poverty is being reduced, he suggested that a proper database on poverty elimination was the need of the hour.

A legislation on setting up an independent statistical body was imperative to enable the government maintain a database, Ahluwalia said the inter-state variation in growth has increased.