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The Indian government estimates the number of below poverty line (BPL) families in rural areas is likely to drop sharply. Thus, fewer families will be eligible for the benefits of poverty alleviation programmes in the Tenth Five Year Plan than in the earlier one, The Business Standard reported Monday. The rural development ministry, which is in charge of these programs, has changed the rules for identification of BPL families. It has also stipulated that the number of BPL families identified by states on the basis of the BPL Census 2002 cannot exceed the 1999-2000 BPL estimates of the Planning Commission by more than 10 per cent. The BPL Census conducted in 1997 had indicated 41.05 per cent of the total number of families in the country were BPL families. But, the 1999-2000 Planning Commission estimates had put the number of poor persons in rural areas at 27.09 per cent of the total population.