New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Jharkhand has 12.6 million people living below the poverty line, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said Thursday.

He told the Rajya Sabha that this figure was based on figures from the Planning Commission.
The minister said in a written statement that the percentage of people below the poverty line in the state fell from 45.3 percent in 2004-5 to 39.1 percent in 2009-10.