Inequality in the ownership pattern of resources is one of the major causes of poverty. Discuss in the context of 'paradox of…

The 'paradox of poverty' in India refers to the stark coexistence of abundant natural, mineral, and capital wealth alongside pervasive deprivation. While the nation possesses rich agro-ecological endowments and industrial resource bases, skewed resource ownership ensures that the dividends of growth remain concentrated, trapping large segments of the population in chronic poverty.

Agrarian Asset Inequality and Economic Inefficiency Land ownership remains the primary determinant of rural socioeconomic mobility. With a land distribution Gini coefficient exceeding 0.7, extreme concentration of holdings has created a massive class of assetless agricultural labourers vulnerable to subsistence wages. Furthermore, economic evidence shows an inverse relationship between farm size and productivity, wherein smallholder farming yields higher land productivity than large holdings. Skewed land distribution thus breeds both poverty and systemic economic inefficiency.

Caste, Gender, and the Resource Curse Resource deprivation is heavily mediated by social intersectionality. Dalits and women face systemic exclusion from asset ownership; women operate less than 14 percent of agricultural holdings (Agriculture Census 2015–16), while Scheduled Castes remain disproportionately land-poor, cementing intergenerational poverty. Similarly, the resource curse manifests sharply in mineral-rich central and eastern belts. Tribal communities in Odisha and Jharkhand are routinely displaced by mining and industrial expansion, losing access to traditional forest resources without gaining viable alternative livelihoods.

Policy Pathways Historical land ceiling acts and tenancy protections saw limited success due to weak implementation and tenancy concealment. Mitigating this inequality requires formalising secure tenancy rights, effectively enforcing the PESA Act to safeguard tribal resources, and scaling property formalisation initiatives like SVAMITVA to democratise asset ownership and dismantle structural deprivation.