Living Conditions
Access to banking
Nearly everyone in India now has a bank account. However, some gender gaps remain, and not everyone with an account uses it
Abhishek Waghmare
abhishek@dataforindia.com
Work
Why has female labour force participation in India changed?
After being low by global standards for decades, and falling further since the mid 2000s, the share of Indian women who are in the labour force has increased. We examine the parts of the workforce and the economy where these changes have occurred
Measurement
How India measures literacy
Literacy rates are rising fast in India. But how literacy is defined matters, as does the manner in which surveys on literacy are conducted, resulting in some illiterate people being missed from official statistics
Living Conditions
ICT skills
Most Indians can send messages, but far fewer have the information and communications technology (ICT) skills needed to do calculations, make presentations or write code. There are large gaps between rural and urban Indians, and between men and women.
Economy
The economies of Indian states
India's states differ from each other not only in the sizes of their populations, but also in the sizes of their economies. While all states are growing, the rate of growth varies significantly between regions
Living Conditions
Vehicle ownership in India
Two-wheeler ownership has become more widespread in India, but car ownership is relatively low and concentrated among some groups
Living Conditions
Household spending in India
Consumption expenditure, an important indicator of living standards, has risen steadily, and the share of spending on food has declined sharply
Measurement
Measuring consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure data is vital to the understanding of living standards in India. The latest official data offers a new window, but has also seen key changes in methodology
Living Conditions
Higher education
Enrolment in higher education has grown relatively slowly in India, and large regional and gender gaps persist
Living Conditions
Education levels in India
Over time, the share of the population that is illiterate has declined sharply. But few Indians go on to get a higher education.
Living Conditions
Literacy in India
India is nearing universal literacy, and historic gaps between socio-economic groups are narrowing
Living Conditions
Enrolment in education
Independent India has brought almost every Indian child into school. But there's still a long way to go with higher education
Economy
Trade
Software service exports in particular have transformed the nature of international trade between India and the world
Work
Employment in India
Who is in India’s labour force, who is out of it, what work people in the labour force do, and who is unemployed
Economy
The move away from agriculture
As countries industrialise and grow, the contribution of agriculture to the economy starts to fall. But the pathways from there on are diverse, and India is in some ways unique.
Measurement
Measuring employment and unemployment
What is work in Indian statistics, how is work captured, and who is defined as unemployed