Indian Socio-Economic Indicators

Adivasis get caught in a cycle of poverty and deprivation. 45 percent of tribal groups in rural areas and 35 percent in urban areas live below the poverty line. Many tribal children are malnourished. Literacy rates among tribals are also very low.

As per census 2001, the literacy rate of men in India is 75.85% means 76%.

According to 2011 census, the female literacy rate in India is 65.46%. The highest female literacy is seen in Kerala with a literacy rate of 91.98% and lowest female literacy is in Rajasthan with a rate of 52.66%.

According to UN reports, approximately 80% of all wastewater produced by human activities is discharged back into the environment without being treated.

Around 8 per cent of India’s population is Adivasi and many of India’s most important mining and industrial centres are located in Adivasi areas – Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai among others. Adivasis are not a homogeneous population: there are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India. Adivasis are particularly numerous in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

Muslims are 13.4 percent of India’s population and are considered to be a marginalised community in India today because, in comparison to other communities, they have over the years been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development. 

Literacy rates point to demographic shifts in the years to come. The 2001 Census showed Jains, with a literacy rate of 94.1%, the most educated. They were followed by Christians at 80.3%, Buddhists at 72.7%, Sikhs at 69.4%, Hindus at 65.1% and Muslims at 59.1%. 

Houses made of mud, thatch or other low-quality materials are called kutcha houses. Data is disaggregated by Social Groups and major religious communities.

Kutcha houses:

• 63.6% of Muslims live in kutcha houses.
• 55.2% of Hindus live in kutcha houses.

In many developing regions, the burden of water collection falls disproportionately on women and girls. Statistics from organizations like UN Water consistently indicate that in a significant majority of households without on-site water, women are the primary collectors.

The Scheduled caste are a group of disadvantaged people who were considered untouchables and lower caste people in the History of India. The constitution of India makes provision for the advancement of scheduled caste and scheduled tribes by the State. According to 2011 census, the Scheduled Caste constitute 16.2% of Indian Population.

 In 2001, the Scheduled Castes were 16.2 per cent and the Scheduled Tribes were 8.2 percent of the country’s population. According to the 2001 Census, the Scheduled Castes population in India stands at 166,635,700 persons The total population of the Scheduled Tribes in India stands at 84,326,240 persons as per the 2001 Census.

Poverty estimates in India vary significantly based on the committee and methodology used (e.g., Tendulkar, Rangarajan). Given the options, 35% is a commonly cited figure in older textbooks or specific socio-economic contexts.

In India census is carried out at an interval of 10 years. 

As per census 2011, Literacy rate in Kerala is 93.91%