More women in southern states hold land than rest of India, reveals survey

Lakshadweep, Meghalaya have most women land holders in India; Punjab, West Bengal fewest

Lakshadweep and Meghalaya are the best among all 35 states and union territories of India at providing land rights to women, while Punjab and West Bengal are the worst, according to an index created by the Bhubaneswar-based Center for Land Governance, an arm of consultancy firm NR Management Consultants (NRMC).

The index was prepared using data on women’s operational holdings from the agriculture census of 2011, the share of adult women owning agricultural land from the Indian Human Development Survey of 2011-12, the share of women-headed households owning land from the Socio