Poverty, inequality and unemployment

Poverty, inequality and unemployment are India's most watched social indicators, and they are measured with distinct tools. Poverty lines (notably the Tendulkar methodology, later reviewed by Rangarajan) set consumption thresholds; unemployment is measured by activity status — usual status (longer-run), current weekly status, and current daily status (the most sensitive to casual work). Worked example: if a survey finds 40 of 1000 people unemployed by current daily status but only 20 by usual status, the gap of 20 shows casual and seasonal underemployment that the usual-status measure hides.