For 46.5 per cent of schedule tribe (ST) households in urban areas, regular wages or salary is the major source of household income, says a new report from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
In rural areas though, ST households are largely dependent on income from agriculture and casual wage employment, with only 6.3 per cent households reporting regular wage or salaried income as their major income source.
The report, based on the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)'s 68th round of employment and unemployment survey, carried out in 2011-12, reveals in rural areas, for 58.4 per cent of the 'others' households, essentially high caste households, self-employment in agriculture is the major source of income. For only 13.3 of them, regular wages or salary is the main source of income, while 21 per cent are dependent on casual wage labour.
In urban areas, the proportion of households for whom self-employment is the major source of income was highest among OBCs at 37.8 per cent, followed by 'others' at 36.9 per cent.
At the aggregate level, while the proportion of rural households for whom casual wage employment is the major source of household income is roughly three times that of urban households, it is opposite in the case of regular wage employment.
For 41.7 per cent of urban households, regular wage or salaried employment is the major income source, as opposed to only 9.6 per cent in rural areas.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU