Question

Table 1: PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE, 2011-12

CASTE and COMMUNITY GROUPS	RURAL INDIA	URBAN INDIA
	Spending Rs. 816 or less per person per month	Spending Rs. 1000 or less per person per month
Scheduled Tribes	45.3	24.1
Scheduled Castes	31.5	21.7
FC	15.5	8.1
OBCs	22.7	15.4
Muslims	26.9	22.7
Hindus	25.6	12.1
Christians	22.2	05.5
Sikhs	06.2	05.0
ALL GROUPS	25.4	13.7

Note: OBC = Other Backward Classes; UC = ‘Upper Castes’, i.e., not SC/ST/OBC

Table 2: PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION THAT IS AFFLUENT, 1999-2000

CASTE and COMMUNITY GROUPS	RURAL INDIA	URBAN INDIA
	Spending Rs. 1000 or less per person per month	Spending Rs. 2000 or less per person per month
Scheduled Tribes	1.4	1.8
Scheduled Castes	1.7	0.8
OBCs	3.3	2.0
Muslim	2.0	1.6
Hindu	8.6	8.2
Christian	18.9	17.0
Sikh	31.7	15.1
Others	17.9	14.4
ALL GROUPS	4.3	4.5

Note: OBC = Other Backward Classes

Table 1 shows the percentage of the population of each caste/ community that lives below the official ‘Poverty Line’ for 2011–2012. There are separate columns for rural and urban India.

Table 2 is organised in exactly the same way except that it shows the percentage of population living in affluence rather than in poverty. ‘Affluence’ is here defined as a monthly per-person expenditure of Rs.1000 for rural India and Rs.2000 for urban India. This is equivalent to a family of five spending Rs.5000 per month in rural India and Rs.10,000 per month in urban India. Please take some time to study the tables carefully before you answer the questions below.

1. What is the percentage of the Indian population that was living below the poverty line in (a) Rural India and (b) Urban India?
2. Which caste/community group has the highest proportion of its members living in extreme poverty in a) rural and b) urban India? Which caste/community has the lowest percentage of population living in poverty?
3. Approximately how many times higher than the national average is the poverty percentage for each of the lower castes (ST, SC, OBC)? Is there a significant rural-urban difference?
4. Which caste/community has the lowest percentage of population living in affluence in rural and urban India respectively? How does this compare with the national average?
5. The affluent population of ‘Upper’ caste Hindus is roughly how many times larger than the percentage for the ‘lower’ castes (ST, SC, OBC)?
6. What do these tables tell you about the relative position of the OBCs? Is there a significant rural-urban difference?

Answer 1

(1)

1. Rural India: 25.4% (found under the ‘ALL GROUPS’ row in Table 1).
2. Urban India: 13.7% (found under the ‘ALL GROUPS’ row in Table 1).

(2)

1. Highest Proportion in Poverty: Scheduled Tribes (ST) have the highest poverty rate in both sectors, with 45.3% in rural India and 24.1% in urban India.
2. Lowest Proportion in Poverty: The Sikh community has the lowest percentage of population living in poverty, with only 6.2% in rural India and 5.0% in urban India.

(3)

1. Rural India (Compared to 25.4% national average):
   1. ST (45.3%): Roughly 1.8 times higher.
   2. SC (31.5%): Roughly 1.2 times higher.
   3. OBC (22.7%): This is actually lower than the rural national average (around 0.9 times).
      
2. Urban India (Compared to 13.7% national average):
   1. ST (24.1%): Roughly 1.8 times higher.
   2. SC (21.7%): Roughly 1.6 times higher.
   3. OBC (15.4%): Roughly 1.1 times higher.
3. Rural-Urban Difference: Yes, there is a significant difference. While rural OBCs stand below the rural national average, urban OBCs and urban Scheduled Castes experience a comparatively worse economic gap relative to the national baseline than their rural counterparts.

(4)

• Lowest Affluence in Rural India: Scheduled Tribes (ST) at 1.4%. This is three times lower than the rural national average of 4.3%.
• Lowest Affluence in Urban India: Scheduled Castes (SC) at 0.8%. This is more than five times lower than the urban national average of 4.5%.

(5)

• Compared to Scheduled Tribes (ST): Hindu affluence is 6.1 times larger in rural areas and 4.6 times larger in urban areas.
• Compared to Scheduled Castes (SC): Hindu affluence is 5.1 times larger in rural areas and 10.3 times larger in urban areas.
• Compared to OBCs: Hindu affluence is 2.6 times larger in rural areas and 4.1 times larger in urban areas.

(6)

• Relative Position: The OBCs occupy a middle tier or transitional position. Their poverty and affluence metrics stay closely aligned with the national averages compared to the stark extremes seen in the ST, SC, or Sikh data columns.
• Rural-Urban Difference: Yes. In rural areas, OBCs fare relatively better, with a poverty rate (22.7%) below the national average (25.4%). However, in urban areas, their poverty rate (15.4%) climbs above the national average (13.7%), showing greater economic vulnerability in city environments.