Great divide in rural India
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Socio-eco census paints grim picture of rural India
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New Delhi — For nearly 75 per cent of the nearly 180 million households in rural India the monthly income of a highest-earning member is less than Rs5000 ($83) even as 40 per cent are landless toiling as manual casual labourers as per latest official data.
This is the finding of the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 for Rural India released on Friday that also shows that nearly 25 per cent of the rural households still do not own a phone despite India boasting a telecom subscriber base of around a billion.
The survey for the first time since 1931 gives a glimpse into the livestyles in rural India in terms of how many households own a phone a refrigerator automobiles or land what percentage of such population pays direct taxes the kind of jobs they pursue and their literacy rates.
As per the Census among the fortunate families that actually own land the dependence on rains for their crops is rather high with 25 per cent having no access to irrigation as per the Census released by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Only 8.29 per cent of the rural households reported a member who was drawing more than Rs10000 per month while for 17.18 per cent others the monthly earning was between Rs5000 and Rs10000 per month. And 180657 people still do manual scavenging despite this being illegal.
The latest Census covered all the 640 districts in the country in a paperless manner using some 640000 electronic handheld devices. The government on Friday released only the provisional data of the socio-economic Census for rural India.
The Census seeks to provide useful data on households on various aspects of their socio-economic status — housing land-holding education women the differently able occupation possession of assets and members of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
In a bid to target government schemes better and ensure they benefit the intended beneficiaries alone it also provides for automatic exclusion of families on the basis of 14 parametres as also automatic inclusion on the basis of five criteria.
“The progress which households in India have made who are the ones who have qualitatively moved up in terms of quality of life — a document of these will be an important input for all policy makers both at the centre and in the states” Jaitley said while releasing the Census.
“I am sure that with the enormity of the schemes and their reaches that all governments have this document will form the basis of helping us to target groups to support in terms of policy planning” he added.
Based on 14 parametres for families — which include criteria such owing a vehicle possessing a kisan credit card having a serving government member drawing an income of Rs10000 per month or owing a refrigerator — only 70.5 million families (39.39 per cent) stand to be excluded.
Similarly based on five parametres — households without shelter those living on alms manual scavengers primitive tribals and legally released bonded labourers —1.65 million families are eligible for automatic inclusion.
At the same time over 100 million of rural families or 60 per cent qualify for “deprivation” based on seven criteria — which include those with one room kuccha walls no member in 18-59 age group no literate adult above 25 years and landless households.
Among them while 21.5 per cent are Dalits or tribals 23.5 per cent are without a literate adulty above 25 years of age. This apart 30 per cent are landless households deriving a major part of their income from manual labour.
In terms of education the Census suggests that 35.73 per cent of the rural folk are illiterate with Rajasthan at the bottom with 47 per cent and Lakshwadeep at the top with 9.3 per cent. Also 45 per cent of the people still live in kuccha houses made of thatch stones and mud.
Nonetheless every 10th household owns a refigerator -- with such population constituting nearly 70 per cent in Goa and Lakshwadeep and 66 per cent in Punjab but only 2.6 per cent in Bihar 3.3 per cent in Chhattisgarh 4.1 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and 4.4 per cent in Meghalaya.
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