These are causes for poverty in India as under:

1. Unemployment : Widespread unemployment is responsible for poverty in India. The problem of unemployment has many forms such as open unemployment, disguised unemployment, under employment, seasonal unemployment etc.

2. Backwardness of Agriculture : The inadequate supply of water, fertilizers, pesticides and low level of technology are the main causes responsible for the backwardness of agriculture in India.

3. Low Level of Technology : Use of low technology results in low level of productivity and consequently country remains in a state of poverty.

4. Under-Utilisation of Natural Resources : India possesses vast and rich natural resources but a large part of our water, forest energy and mineral resources is either unutilised or under-utilised.

5. Inequalities of Income and Wealth : To a large extent, inequalities of income and wealth are also responsible for poverty in India.

6. Rapid rise in population : Due to increase in population, the level of per capita income and consumption is not increasing much.

7. Social Factors : Illiteracy, ignorance, backwardness, outdated technology, social infrastructure and unscientific outlook are also responsible for poverty in India.

8. Government Policies : Taxation and expenditure policies of the government have not been used effectively to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

9. Inflation : Inflation is also a cause of poverty, because of inflation people cannot buy much with their incomes.

10. Regional Disparities : There is a wide regional disparity in India. Some states are very well off while others are poor. Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh are rich because of agricultural activities and Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab have lots of industrial activities.