Urban poverty in India is currently identified on the basis of levels of consumption, linked to a minimum calorific intake. It is, however, widely agreed that the nature of deprivation suffered by the urban poor in India is multi-dimensional. From a human development perspective, the urban poor not only suffer from systematic exclusion and insecurity of livelihoods and tenure; deprivation of basic needs such as food, safe water and sanitation and shelter; but are also often denied access to other entitlements including quality education and healthcare and financial services.

The proportion of India’s poor in the total population has fallen both in urban and rural areas, especially during the 2000s. However, the absolute number of the urban poor is increasing . In addition, inequality in urban areas is typically higher than in most rural areas (Appendix 1). Since the 1970s, inequality has been increasing in urban areas while it has remained relatively stable in rural areas 2 3 1 . Recent evidence indicates that inequality has begun to adversely affect urban poverty reduction . The depth of poverty (as measured by the poverty gap) is higher in urban areas when compared to rural areas 4 . In Indian cities, the incidence and depth of poverty varies with city size, nature of employment, gender, migration status, caste, and levels of education (Thorat & Dubey, 2012; Kundu & Sarangi, 2007; Rustagi, Sarkar, & Joddar, 2009).