Methods to determine the poverty line in India are : 

1. To estimate the limit on consumption, public expenditure and consumer goods expenditure implied by the government are not considered. Under this, only private expenditure is considered. 

2. Poverty ratio is also defined by calorie consumption.

3. For private consumption expense components, both, food items and non-food items are taken in consideration. 

4. After every class interval, frequencies are recorded, and each of these frequencies portrays the number of people associated with it. 

5. Finally census or people counting is conducted which shows the poor and non poor people of the rural and urban sectors separately. This count exhibits the percentage of population below the poverty line.