The correct answer is Both 1 and 2. Explanation & Key Takeaways: • Poverty Reduction and Development • The World Bank (2000) has found that India could have achieved a sustained decline in poverty during the 1970s-1990s only when the GDP growth picked up from 3.5 percent in the initial years. • Evidence from 80 countries demonstrated that in the medium to long run, growth in average incomes contributed to 66-90 percent of the variations in changes in poverty. • Many researchers have found that growth reduced poverty, and the association has acquired more strength after the 1991 reforms. The pattern of growth has changed significantly after 1991. Poverty is concentrating more and more in urban areas, as now one-in-three poor people are living in urban areas, which was about one in eight in the early 1950s. Hence, statement 1 is correct. • In the post-liberalization period, urban growth and non-agricultural growth have emerged as major drivers of national poverty reduction including rural poverty. Hence, statement 2 is correct.