Fridge, landline will keep you out of BPL

BANGALORE: Own a refrigerator? Or do you dial from a landline phone? You could automatically be excluded from the below poverty line (BPL) list.
The first-ever paperless headcount of the poor, including their caste and religion, will have a set of probing questions that will decide their socio-economic status. To be rolled out in select Union Territories and Tripura starting next month, the Socio-Economic Census 2011 has 23 questions that aim to automatically exclude those above the poverty line and those eligible for automatic inclusion in the BPL category.
The two-page draft questionnaire circulated by the rural development ministry to states — accessed by TOI — shows that the census will have questions that will automatically eject people from being included in the poverty list.
Those who own a landline or a refrigerator, pay income tax or professional tax, belong to families of government servants will be classified as those above the poverty line. Kisan credit card holders with a credit limit exceeding Rs 50,000 and those with 2/3/4-wheelers or motorised fishing boats will also be excluded from the BPL list. Primitive tribal groups, bonded labourers and manual scavengers are among those who will be automatically included in the BPL category. Religion and caste data will be collected — and kept confidential — along with other demographic information like date of birth, sex and marital status.