The correct answer is (c) 22.2%.
The Tendulkar Committee was a committee set up by the Government of India in 2005 to review the methodology for estimating poverty in India. The committee submitted its report in 2009, and recommended a new poverty line based on the concept of “consumption expenditure”. The committee estimated that the percentage of the population below the poverty line in 2005-06 was 22.2%.
The other options are incorrect. Option (a) is the percentage of the population below the poverty line as estimated by the Planning Commission in 2004-05. Option (b) is the percentage of the population below the poverty line as estimated by the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2004-05. Option (d) is the percentage of the population below the poverty line as estimated by the Tendulkar Committee in 2009.
The Tendulkar Committee’s methodology for estimating poverty has been criticized by some economists. They argue that the committee’s definition of poverty is too narrow, and that the committee’s poverty line is too low. However, the Tendulkar Committee’s methodology is the official methodology used by the Government of India to estimate poverty.