Poverty refers to lack of basic necessities that encompasses the need for one to thrive in all areas of life. When one lacks necessities like clothing, shelter, and food, it diminishes the quality or lack thereof to succeed and flourish in the society.
Poverty can broadly be divided into two categories of ‘transitory’ and ‘chronic’, wherein the former refers to when the period of poverty is not long-lasting, because there comes a time when people eventually move out of that state of being in poverty. On the other hand, the latter refers to when people suffer for a significant amount of time, sometimes their entire lifetime in a state of poverty; eventually passing it on to their children.

There are several factors that play a role in the changing dynamics of poverty in India: 

1. Economic instability: While bouts of economic growth can lead to a creation of many job opportunities thereby bringing people out of their state of poverty, it can also push back people into the same situation in times of an economic crisis.
2. Division of social class: Groups like Scheduled Caste (SCs), Scheduled Tribe (STs), and Other Backward Class (OBCs) have been discriminated and isolated since time immemorial thus leading to high rates of poverty amongst them.
3. Gender Inequality: Women in the country continue to be back-ridden with poverty as compared to men; particularly women in rural areas face great amount of gender discrimination, limited effort in educating girl child and no access to proper healthcare thus leading them a life of poverty.

Initiatives taken by the government in the reduction of poverty in India:

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) promises to provide guaranteed 100 days of wage employment to workers and ensures minimum income by fostering rural development.
2. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) aims at providing affordable housing to low income section of the society.
3. Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) by Prime Minister Modi aims to develop rural villages into model villages thus leading towards successful rural development in India.
4. Public Distribution System (PDS) aims to provide and ensure that essential commodities are available to the poor at affordable prices through its subsidised prices.