define poverty line.how does it help india in categorising different levels of poverty?

Poverty line refers to the cut-off point in terms of per capita expenditure incurred by the people to satisfy the basic needs. The people lying below this cut-off point are considered as poor. It helps in catagorising different levels of poverty as all the data is taken by keeping the line into mind. Its broadest classification is:-

(i)On the basis of the ability to fulfill the minimum needs

(ii)On the basis of the region

Then the further classification is made. In this way the poverty line helps to catagorise different levels of poverty.