Statsguru: From bottled water to subsidised food, life in national capital

Majority of households in Delhi have access to tap water, shows survey

A recently released survey by Delhi’s Department of Economics and Statistics gives interesting insights about people in the national capital. Though it is known that as a city-state, Delhi fares better than the national average in most economic parameters, this survey — conducted between November 2018 and November 2019 in two million households — has some observations worth noting.

Despite being one of the richest states in India with a per capita income of more than Rs 350,000, only 10 per cent households in Delhi spend more than Rs 25,000 a month on consumption of goods and services (chart 1). To the extent this holds true, it suggests that income is not fairly distributed in the national capital.

Also, majority of households in Delhi have access to tap water. In urban localities, four out of five houses have it. But taps are drier in the urban villages, and in the rural areas at the periphery. So much so that about one in ten families depend on bottled water, reveals chart 2, with the proportion varying across localities.

Intuitively, richer households own more vehicles. Chart 3 shows that about 70 per cent of the poorest households do not own even a single automobile. Also, the richest group owns cars to a higher degree than bikes.

Digital India is the way ahead, and the predominantly urban capital state should be better placed to be a natural leader. But about a fourth of Delhi’s urban households do not have a computer or internet at home, shows chart 4. The penetration is even lower in the rural pockets.

Majority of the households have a toilet in the house premises, reveals chart 5. The same chart also shows that a third of Delhi families get subsidised food grains, a big proportion if we take Delhi’s high per capita income into account.

Finally, a comparison to the national average across a few parameters shows that Delhi is comfortably ahead: Be it when it comes to having an air conditioner in the house, or owning a car, or the use of mobile phones (chart 6). The relative affluence of Delhi is evident in the fact that its contribution to national income tax collection is nearly 15 per cent. It also commands 17 per cent of India’s foreign direct investment, shows the chart.

Sources: Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Delhi, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, Crisil, Motilal Oswal Securities, Ministry of Finance, NITI Aayog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

StatsGuru is a weekly feature. Every Monday, Business Standard guides you through the numbers you need to know to make sense of the headlines; Compiled by BS Research Bureau