This book is the result of detailed research on the theoretical and empirical aspects of the various facets of poverty in India. It contains certain hitherto unexplored areas in the measurement of poverty and presents solid facts about poverty and deprivation, which can add real substance to the on-going poverty debate. It traces the inter-temporal movement of poverty indices during the fifty years of planned development and breaks several grounds such as poverty at substate level, poverty by occupation and socio-economic groups, by household size, land possession and gender and religion of the population. The consumption and poverty estimates by occupation and social groups could be of great use for the planners and policy makers to locate the target groups and for successful implementation of the poverty alleviation programmes.