In a given year in India, official poverty lines are higher in some States than in others because

The correct answer is B. Official poverty lines are set by converting a fixed consumption need, a calorie norm, into rupees. That rupee cost depends on local prices, so a state where goods cost more needs a higher money line to buy the same basket. The Tendulkar (2009) and Rangarajan (2014) committees both used state-specific price indices for this reason.

• A is wrong. Poverty rates are an outcome of comparing consumption with the line. They do not determine the line itself.
• C is wrong. Gross State Product measures output and income. The official line is not derived from GSP.
• D is wrong. Quality of PDS affects how many people are poor, or how well they are fed. It does not change the rupee value of the calorie norm.

The core concept is the spatial price index in poverty measurement. It matters for Mains questions on targeting welfare schemes and on why a single national line can mislead. Note that the Rangarajan line of 2014 was higher than Tendulkar's, so figures from different years are not directly comparable.

Trap: Aspirants tend to link the poverty line to the poverty rate or to income levels. The line is a price-adjusted consumption threshold, not a result of poverty or income.