Sunil Jain: Rural rich

While there's considerable debate about whether rural India is steeped in poverty, the numbers suggest it's actually doing quite well, with around a tenth of all households with an annual income of over a crore rupees living in rural areas; the figure is 15 per cent for those with an annual family income of over Rs 50 lakh; and over a third of all those with an annual income of over Rs 2 lakh live in rural areas. 

Perspectives
(Number of households in '000)
Annual income in Rs per year	1995-96		2001-02
	Urban	Rural	Urban	Rural
Under 90,000	29,295	101,881	24,632	110,746
90,000-2 lakh	14,541	14,359	21,267	19,995
2-5 lakh	2,239	1,642	5,762	3,272
5-10 lakh	428	223	1204	507
10-20 lakh	135	53	410	136
20-50 lakh	49	14	161	41
50-100 lakh	9	2	34	6
Above 1 crore	4	1	17	2

Not surprisingly, by the end of the decade, roughly 11 per cent of demand for cars/jeeps will come from rural areas.