India's poor hits 410m

India now has 100 million more people living below the poverty line than in 2004.

The poverty rate has risen to 37.2 per cent of the population from 27.5 per cent in 2004, a change that will require the Congress-ruled Government to spend more money on the poor. India now has 410 million people living below the United Nations estimated poverty line of US$1.25 a day.

While India's economy is slowly recovering from the global recession with a GDP growth of 7.2 per cent, millions of poor in rural India are finding it difficult to cope with around 17 per cent food price inflation.