The State of Inequality in India Report

Why in news?

• Recently, the ‘State of Inequality in India’ Report was released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

About the report:

• The report compiles information on inequities across sectors of health, education, household characteristics and the labour market.

Key findings of the report:

• Wealth Concentration:
  • The share of the top 1% accounts for 6-7% of the total incomes earned while the top 10% accounts for one-third of all incomes earned.
  • Urban areas have a 44% wealth concentration in the highest quintile (20%) compared to a meager 7.1% concentration in rural areas.
• Employment:
  • The country’s unemployment rate is 4.8% (2019-20), and the worker population ratio is 46.8%.
  • In 2019-20, among different employment categories, the highest percentage was self-employed workers (45.78%), followed by regular salaried workers (33.5%) and casual workers (20.71%).
  • The share of self-employed workers also happens to be the highest in the lowest income categories.
• Education:
  • The Gross Enrolment Ratio has also increased between 2018-19 and 2019-20 at the primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary.
• Health
  • In the area of health infrastructure, there has been a considerable improvement in increasing the infrastructural capacity with a targeted focus on rural areas.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

The State of Inequality in India Report is released by:

(a) NITI Aayog

(b) Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

(c) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

(d) National Statistical Commission

Answer