North Indian villages are better off, eastern region lags behind

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North Indian villages are where prosperity is. The percentage of households with members having salaried jobs in the region is twice as much as that of national average. Data sourced from Socio-Economic and Caste Census, 2011 clearly show that other than the much talked about India-Bharat divide, there is wide regional variation in economic condition in the countryside as well.

According to SECC data, nearly 18 per cent households in the northern region have at least one member earning in excess of Rs 10,000 in a month. The proportion of such households in the eastern region is a mere 6.23 per cent.

Even in terms of getting government jobs and securing positions in the private sector, villagers from Northern region have established a significant lead over their counterparts from other regions. Only on one parameter, of percentage of households with at least a member in the public sector job, that eastern region is slightly ahead of the national average.

Not surprisingly, the incidence of people from villages from east and central in private sector jobs is quite low. The table below shows the percentage of households in rural areas in different regions getting income from salaried jobs (in government, PSUs or private sector). The last column shows the proportion of households with the highest earning member making in excess of Rs 10,000 a month.