Rural Poverty

Rural poverty, which refers to poverty in rural areas, is characterised by various factors including poor living conditions, heavy reliance on agriculture, landlessness and limited access to basic services.
In addition, the rural poor are often affected by social constraints stemming from caste, gender, and ethnicity, which can limit social mobility and access to opportunities.

The 2018 National Sample Survey (NSS) on education highlighted significant disparities, with rural literacy at 73.5 per cent compared to 87.7 per cent in urban areas.

Another way of understanding rural poverty is by looking at access to land and land ownership.
Data reveals that the small (1-2 hectares of land) and marginal (less than 1 hectare) farming households are the most affected and poor groups.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey data shows that around 59 per cent of the rural workers are engaged in agriculture and allied activities.
Among agricultural workers, there is a disparity in the incidence of poverty based on whether a worker is a cultivator or a casual wage worker. 

The incidence of poverty is much higher among agricultural labourers than cultivators. For instance, as of 2004-05, 21.5 per cent of the cultivators are poor while 46.4 per cent of all agricultural casual workers are poor.

Among the rural non-agricultural workers, the type of non-agricultural work is important. Self-employment in non-farm work or precarious and casual non-farm work like in construction may not lead to poverty reduction. 

Also, the 76th round of the NSS underlined notable differences in access to basic services. About 29 per cent of rural households lack access to toilets, in contrast to nearly 4 per cent in urban areas; and more than 40 per cent of rural households do not have drinking water facilities within the home, compared to 20 per cent in urban areas. 

These statistics underline that understanding deprivation and multidimensional poverty in India requires a perspective that goes beyond the data.
Also, around 65 per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas, but a disproportionately high percentage – about 90 per cent – of the nation’s poor reside in rural areas. 

India is also the only country in South Asia where poverty is significantly higher among female-headed households as compared to male-headed households.
Around 19.7 per cent of female-headed households are poor in India while 15.9 per cent of male-headed households are poor. 

Hence, along with regional factors, gender, caste, and religion are also important determinants in understanding poverty in India.
For instance, studies have found that both Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in India contribute more to multidimensional poverty than their population share.