A/HRC/34/51/Add.1 line. 6 The Gini coefficient for India rose to 51 by 2013, from 45 in 1990, 7 mainly on account of rising inequality between urban and rural areas as well as within rapidly growing urban areas. 6. Against that backdrop, the Special Rapporteur recognizes and salutes the ambitious efforts made by India to address poverty and prioritize housing for vulnerable groups through policies and several schemes. According to the Government, urban poverty levels have declined substantially in the last decade, from 25.7 per cent in 2004/05 to about 13.7 per cent in 2011/12.8 7. The Special Rapporteur praises the Government for its ambitious flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Housing for All), a scheme that at least in spirit responds to aspects of the recommendations made to India by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its most recent review (see E/C.12/IND/CO/5). She was pleased that many of the authorities with whom she met at the national, subnational and local levels were genuine in their acknowledgement of the centrality of housing for millions of people, and in recognizing that any effort to provide adequate housing and essential services, like water, sanitation and electricity, had to reach an ever growing number of people who are currently deprived of those rights. In the face of great challenges, many government authorities were open to engaging and to discussing housing, human rights and specific areas for improvement. II. Institutional and legal framework 8. India is party to most core international human rights treaties. In 1979, it ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 11 (1) of which contains provisions on the right to adequate housing, article 2 (2) on the right to nondiscrimination and article 2 (1) on progressive realization of the rights recognized in the Covenant using the maximum available resources. India ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1968, the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1993, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. 9 Accordingly, India has binding international human rights obligations to ensure the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing without discrimination on any ground. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has provided authoritative interpretations on the scope and content of the right to adequate housing, the prohibition of forced evictions and the principle of non-discrimination in the exercise of that right.10 9. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 January 1949 and came into force a year later. India is governed by a parliamentary system, with a strong centre. As a federal State, the powers of the central and state governments are constitutionally determined and 6 7 8 9 10 4 India, Planning Commission, “Report of the Expert Group to review the methodology for measurement of poverty” (2014), p. 18 (table 2.2). Available from http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/pov_rep0707.pdf. See Sonali Jain-Chandra and others, “IMF Working Paper: Sharing the growth dividend: analysis of inequality in Asia” (International Monetary Fund, 2016). Available at: www.imf.org/external/pubs/ ft/wp/2016/wp1648.pdf. See India, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, “India Habitat III: national report 2016”. Available from http://mhupa.gov.in/writereaddata/1560.pdf. See https://treaties.un.org/Pages/Treaties.aspx?id=4&subid=A&clang=_en. See the Committee’s general comments No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing, No. 7 (1997) on forced evictions, and No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights.