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Synopsis Poverty alleviation has become one of the greatest challenges of the modern societies. In this connection it must be noted that a development strategy linked to economic growth will not, by itself, solve the problems of poverty or improve the condition of the poorest segments of the population. The search of alternative strategies has now become intense in India. Remarkably the majority of the poor live in rural areas, therefore, attempts are being made to identify the target groups and provide assistance to them. Despite launching and implementing many programmes it was realised that these programmes did not make any headway on alleviating poverty of the rural poor. Unemployment and inequalities in wealth and income distribution have been continuously increasing. As such unless a direct attack on poverty is not launched, the development efforts would prove of little help. This book analyses all poverty alleviation measures taken so far in pros and cons.