73 per cent of households lives in rural India

[Hindustani78]

Updated: July 3, 2015 17:11 IST
73% of households live in rural India: Socio-Economic and Caste Census - The Hindu

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian at the release of the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in New Delhi on Friday. -- Photo: V. Sudershan

Census shows that the bulk of rural households subsist on very low incomes
Around 73 per cent of households in India are rural, according to the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data released by the government on Friday. Of these, 18.5 per cent and scheduled caste households and 11 per cent belong to the scheduled tribe category.

The SECC, jointly released by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh, also shows that the bulk of India’s rural households subsist on very low incomes. According to the data, 74.5% of rural households have an income of the highest earning member below Rs. 5000 per month. Only 8.3% of rural households have an income of the highest earning member above Rs. 10,000 per month.

Only the provisional data pertaining to rural India was released on Friday. The Census also provides data on households regarding various aspects of their socio-economic status-housing, land-holding/landlessness, educational status, status of women, the differently-abled, occupation, possession of assets, SC/ST households, incomes, etc.

The data also shows the hand-to-mouth existence of large parts of rural India. For example, over 50 per cent of rural households get the bulk of their incomes from manual casual labour and 56 per cent do not own any land.

 

[Hindustani78]

Income levels of rural households in TN present a bleak picture:SECC - The Hindu
Even as Tamil Nadu forges ahead in urbanisation, income levels of rural households present a bleak picture,
Even as Tamil Nadu forges ahead in urbanisation, income levels of rural households present a bleak picture, reveals the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011.

The provisional data released on Friday reiterate the fact that the State is the frontrunner as far as urbanisation is concerned. Of the total households, 42.47 per cent are urban - the highest among larger States in the country ahead of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

While this is a welcome trend for several reasons, the statistics paint a dampening picture with regards to income levels of rural households.

According to the data, 78.08 per cent of rural housesholds’ highest earners have an income of less than Rs 5000. While 15.49 per cent of highest earners draw an income between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000, this figure drops to 8.63 per cent for those who earn more than Rs. 10,000.

The figure is even worse for households headed by women, with 85.58 per cent having highest earners drawing less than Rs 5,000.

Among the Scheduled Caste (SC) population in the State, 85.10 per cent of Dalit households have highest earning member bringing in less than Rs 5,000 a month.

Also, 55.80 per cent of total households are landless and derive income from manual and casual labour. This increases to 73.33 per cent among Scheduled Castes. But this is not a Tamil Nadu-specific trend. Most large States present similar figures.

How do we make sense of a situation where a State continues to urbanise, but encounters low-earning capacity in rural households, especially when more than half the population still lives in villages?

Earning opportunities
According to M. Vijayabaskar, assistant professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, the data represent only the income of the highest earner, which means the household as a whole could have a higher earning. “But this does not mean the income is substantial. When you look at the price index and the necessity for spending on various components, such as health and education, the income is certainly very low,” he says. It also represents the fact that earning opportunities in rural areas are harder to find.

“It shows that a large number of rural population is marginalised and they may not get regular employment,” says Dr. R. Srinivasan of University of Madras. “In rural areas, unless the villagers have some asset like education or land then they will have to depend on manual labour,” he points out.

However, in Tamil Nadu, poverty is addressed through an array of social security schemes, including a relatively efficient Public Distribution System (PDS). “This is the reason why we have seen considerable decrease in rural poverty, as ascertained by the Tendulkar committee model, in Tamil Nadu. Still, low disposable income is a significant issue,” says Mr. Vijayabaskar.

Citing his own experience, he says small farm holdings, which constitute over 90 per cent of all land holdings in Tamil Nadu, play an important role in slow rise in remuneration among cultivators, especially at a time when farm inputs cost more.

Commenting on the urbanisation data, economist Venkatesh Athreya says the trend may necessarily not mean a better living standard. “We see a high number of town panchayats in Tamil Nadu. In some instances, these are merely administrative definitions. On the ground, they may not be much better off than a village panchayat,” he says.

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Socio-economic census of households nationwide shows Andhra Pradesh lagging behind on several parameters - The Hindu
Socio-economic census of households nationwide shows Andhra Pradesh lagging behind on several parameters
The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) of households nationwide, released on Friday, shows just how much lag Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has to make up to come good on his promise of placing the State among the first three frontline states of the country by 2022. The survey shows Andhra Pradesh way behind on various parameters including education and household income while a majority of the State’s population continues to depend on agriculture and manual labour occupations.

According to census, 37.85 per cent of the State’s population (1.35 crore of the 3.59 crore population) are illiterates while 14.72 per cent (52.89 lakh) have education below the primary level. This is against the national average of 35.73 per cent and 13.97 per cent respectively.

A little over 17 per cent (17.12 per cent) of the population (61.49 lakh) has primary level education and 13.25 per cent (47.61 lakh) have schooling up to the middle school level compared to the national average of 17.78 per cent and 13.53 per cent. Only 8.54 per cent (30.66 lakh) have completed secondary education and another 4.46 per cent (16.02 lakh) completed higher secondary school.

The State also has whopping 79.53 per cent of households (73.93 lakh) whose highest earning member earns less than Rs. 5,000 income while 15.63 per cent households (14.52 lakh) have income between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000. The proportion of households earning over Rs. 10,000 is about 4.68 per cent (4.35 lakh). A major chunk of the 58.93 per cent households (54.78 lakh) depend on manual labour while those dependent on cultivation is pegged at 22.41 per cent (20.83 lakh).

Of the 92.97 lakh households in the State, a paltry 4.24 lakh have salaried jobs with the private sector providing jobs to 2.55 per cent (2.13 lakh), the government sector to 1.93 per cent (1.79 lakh) and public sector to 0.34 per cent (31,952).

 

[djsjs]

household appliances and mobile market in future.........Chinese companies ,go go go!!!

 

[Hindustani78]

household appliances and mobile market in future.........Chinese companies ,go go go!!!

I think even Japanese and South Korean companies.

 

[Shotgunner51]

household appliances and mobile market in future.........Chinese companies ,go go go!!!

Note:

73% households are rural

74.5% of rural household have an income of the highest earning member below Rs. 5000 per month (i.e. US$2.6 per day, close to poverty line)
Only 8.3% of rural households have an income of the highest earning member above Rs. 10,000 per month.
Over 50% of rural households get the bulk of their incomes from manual casual labour.
56% do not own any land.​

Illiteracy national average 35.73%
Education below the primary level national average 13.97%

I don't see household appliances making a big sale, at best these households can maintain basic living (lower CPI, higher PPP) but not going to tap into any foreign imports (as well as locally produced by foreign investment).

 

[Hindustani78]

SCs in TN better off than FCs in Jharkhand - The Hindu

National averages hide State-level dynamics; SCs, STs worse off on average.
New data from the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 and the UNICEF’s Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) show that while India’s Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have worse socio-economic indicators, this disadvantage is varies substantially depending on the State where they live.

So SC and ST children in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are less likely to be underweight than OBC and forward caste children in States like Jharkhand and Gujarat. Similarly, SC households in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are more likely to own a vehicle than ‘other’ households in West Bengal or Bihar.

The RSOC, carried out on a nationally representative sample of one lakh households, was conducted in 2013-14 and made public by The Hindu on Monday, although it has not yet been officially released. The SECC, which contains data on the socio-economic status of all rural households, was conducted in 2011 and released on Friday.

Both sets of data show that SC and ST households remain significantly worse off on average. Rates of stunting and severe stunting in children under the age of five are highest among SC and ST children with ST children faring the worst. For both stunting and underweight, OBCs and ‘others’ have substantially better indicators.

However, the national averages hide State-level dynamics. Among States with substantial SC populations, Kerala, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh have the lowest levels of underweight SC children. Therefore, an SC child in these States is less likely to be underweight than an ‘other’ category child in Gujarat, Jharkhand or West Bengal.

Among States with significant ST populations, the north-eastern States have lower levels of ST children underweight than ‘other’ category children in most of the northern and eastern States, as well as Gujarat.

Changing dynamics

Similar is the case with SECC data. Nationally, ‘other’ households have far better socio-economic indicators than SC and ST households. However, once State location is factored in, the dynamics change. A far higher proportion of SC households in Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana own vehicles compared to ‘other’ category households in Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal.


An ST household in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland and Manipur is also more likely to have a family member earning more than Rs. 10,000 per month than an ‘other’ category household in Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand. More SC households in Karnataka pay income tax than ‘other’ households in Gujarat.

SC - 34.40%
ST - 36.80%
OBC - 29.40%
Others - 23.60%