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Data: Significant Increase in Hate Crime Incidents in USA Including Those with Bias Motivation Closely Linked to Indians
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 20, 2024
In recent times, a disturbing pattern of potentially racially motivated attacks has unfolded against individuals of Indian origin in the USA. Data from the FBI’s UCR database indicates that the number of hate crime incidents in the USA increased significantly in the last few years including those with bias motivation closely linked to Indians.
In recent times, a disturbing pattern of potentially racially motivated attacks has unfolded against individuals of Indian origin in the USA. These incidents have reignited concerns about the safety and security of Indian students across the nation. A member of Parliament from the Opposition Party had also raised this issue and asked the government to probe if there was any ‘hate crime’ angle to these deaths during the Zero Hour of the latest budget session. In response to these developments, the White House has issued a statement affirming the nation’s commitment to thwarting and disrupting such attacks targeting Indians and those of Indian origin. Emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy, they’ve declared that violence rooted in race, gender, religion, or any other factor is unequivocally unacceptable within the United States.
In today’s story, we look at the trends in Hate crimes in the United States.
Data collection and methodology:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program provides a comprehensive definition of hate crime, identifying it as a criminal offence driven, either wholly or partially, by the offender’s bias against a particular race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity. The legislative foundation for monitoring hate crimes was laid with the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 23 April 1990, mandating the Attorney General to compile data on crimes displaying evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. The Hate Crime Statistics Data Collection under UCR gathers information on criminal offences motivated by bias against the victim’s race, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, gender identity, religion, disability, or sexual orientation, encompassing acts against individuals, property, or society. The data collection underwent many changes since its inception, some of them being the addition of Gender and gender identification as a bias motivation since 2013, individual race and ethnicity bias motivation have been clubbed under a single category from 2015 among others.
Further, the compiled hate crime data for each incident encompasses various elements:
One can find the cleaned and standardized datasets of the above data from Dataful here.
Historic Levels of Hate Crime Incidents reported in the United States in 2022
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is responsible for compiling data on hate crimes, including those motivated by single or multiple biases. Law enforcement agencies are required to specify at least one bias motivation for each reported offence type. A single-bias incident is characterized by one or more offence types being driven by the same bias. A multiple-bias incident is described as “an incident where one or more types of offences are motivated by two or more biases.” Each incident can involve multiple offences and multiple victims.
The data on the hate crime incidents show that 2022 recorded the highest levels of incidents, with 11,634 total incidents, up from 10,840 in the previous year. 2021 also marked the first time since the number of incidents rose above ten thousand. From 8,063 incidents in 2000, the hate crime incidents rose by 44%, reaching 11,634 in 2022. The data also shows that more than 97% of hate crime incidents are single-bias incidents.
The target of a hate crime may be an individual, a business or financial institution, a government entity, a religious organization, or society in general. The number of victims rose from 9,924 to a record 13,711 during the same period, rising by 38%.
Almost 60% of the hate crime incidents are motivated by Race/Ethnicity bias.
The motivations behind a hate crime could stem from many factors such as race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity and so on. Sometimes the motivation could be a mix of these factors too. The FBI mandates to specify at least one bias motivation for each offence, up to a maximum of five biases.
The data on the main drivers behind hate crime incidents show that race/ethnicity accounts for an average of 60% or 3/5 of the total incidents, followed by religion at 12%, and sexual orientation at 10%. In the past three years from 2020 to 2022, hate crimes driven by religion and sexual orientation rose from 11% to 18% and 10% to 17% respectively. In absolute terms, the hate crime incidents driven by religion surpassed the two thousand figure for the first time in 2022, settling at 2042.
California tops in hate crime incidents reported, accounts for 17% of the total since 2000.
Analysing hate crimes at the state level is crucial for understanding the localized dynamics of discrimination and violence targeting communities. State-level hate crime data provides valuable insights into the prevalence, trends, and patterns of bias-motivated incidents across different regions.
The data on the state-level reporting of hate crime incidents show that California tops among all states with 17% of the total hate crime incidents reported, followed by New York and New Jersey at 8%. Further, along with these, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Washington account for more than half of the total hate crime incidents reported since 2000. States like Mississippi, North and South Dakota, Alaska, and Wyoming were at the bottom, with the least hate crimes being reported.
In contrast, the data after normalizing the incidents of hate crime per lakh population show that the District of Columbia consistently tops among the states, with an average of 12 such incidents per lakh population, followed by New Jersey at 6.4, Massachusetts at 5.7, and Washington at 4.4. during the same period between 2000 and 2022.
(Note: Numerous factors influence the quantity and nature of crime across different areas. UCR statistics include only jurisdictional population figures along with reported crimes. They do not cover the uniqueness of each locality, in terms of socio-economic conditions, demographic distributions, effectiveness of law enforcement agencies, and reporting standards among others. Relying solely on UCR data for rankings can have unintended consequences.)
2021 sees higher numbers of victims closest to Indian context based on biases.
There is no separate data to analyse the incidents of hate crimes committed against Indians. However, some of the biases behind the commitment to hate crimes come closest to the identity of Indians such as Anti-Asian, Anti-Hindu, Anti-Islamic, Anti-American Indian, Anti-Sikh, and Anti-Buddhist among others. This is the closest identity description to an Indian context, particularly because of the lack of availability of the data on the nationality of the victims.
The data on biases closer to the Indian context show that 2021 saw the highest number of victims of hate crime incidents with 1139 victims, out of which individuals alone accounted for 1026. In 2022, the total number of victims stood at 902, out of which 819 were individuals. These two years represent a significant jump in victims as compared to the previous years. On average, individuals account for 80% of the total victims.
(Note: The below graph is calculated using an indicative list of biases that come closer to the identity of Indians in general. While this is not a fool proof calculation, it still considers wide descriptive characteristics. Readers are advised to exercise caution while interpreting the data.)
Featured Image: Hate Crime Incidents in USA

created: February 20, 2024


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Data: Significant Increase in the Average Number of Heat Wave Days in the Last two Decades
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 29, 2024
In India, over the past two decades, many parts of the country have experienced record-breaking temperatures during summer months. A study has indicated a 68% likelihood of temperatures and humidity levels breaking records in India and other tropical nations in this ongoing 2024 summer season.
Since the advent of the industrial era, global temperatures have been on the rise, leading to a noticeable increase in heat waves worldwide. These heat waves characterized by prolonged periods of excessively high temperatures, are becoming more frequent, intense, and prolonged, impacting ecosystems, human health, and infrastructure. Scientists attribute this trend to climate change, driven primarily by burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human activities that have contributed to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing the planet’s average temperature to rise. As temperatures continue to climb, the risk of heat-related illnesses, heat stress, and heat-related deaths escalates, particularly in vulnerable populations and regions with limited access to cooling infrastructure. Apart from public health, heat waves also pose a significant challenge to agriculture and ecosystems.
Even in India, over the past two decades, many parts of the country have experienced record-breaking temperatures during summer months. For instance, in May 2016, Rajasthan faced an exceptionally high temperature reaching approximately 51°C, among the highest recorded globally. A study has indicated a 68% likelihood of temperatures and humidity levels breaking records in India and other tropical nations in the 2024 summer season. To further understand these trends, we analyse the heat wave days reported by Indian states since 1967.
As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), a heatwave occurs if the maximum station temperature reaches at least 40°C in the plains and at least 30°C in hilly areas. The IMD further states that in coastal areas, heat waves occur when the maximum temperature departure is 4.5°C or more than normal. In India, heat waves typically occur during the summers from March to June, and in some rare cases, even extend till July. The average heat wave is calculated by totalling the average number of heat wave days in states during the summer. This data has been captured in Envistats. Data on state-wise reported number of heat wave days since 1967 as per Envistats is available in Dataful. This dataset has been used for this story and by the number of heat wave days, we refer to the average number of heat wave days. The states have been categorized into regions as in the table below, for analysis.
Number of heat wave days reported by states has risen steadily over the years
In the 55 years for which data is available, the highest number of heat wave days of all states together were reported in 2010 (279 days). The number of days crossed 200 only on three occasions during this period – in 2010, 1972 (202 days) and 2012 (201 days). The number of days touched/crossed the 150 mark once each in the 1970s and 1980s, twice in the 1990s and 2000s, and four times in the 2010s. If the average number of heat wave days reported in each decade is considered, in each decade since 1970, the annual average number of heat wave days in India of all states together dropped from 100 days in 1970-1979 to 93 days in 1990-1999. This rose to 139 days during 2010-2019. Meanwhile, the lowest number of heat wave days were reported in 1990 with 17 days, 1971 with 20 days and 2020 with 29 days.
Uttarakhand reported highest number of days in a single year in 2010
Haryana reported the highest number of heat wave days in the 55 years considered. More than 520 heatwave days have been reported by the state during this period. On average, the state has reported about 10 heatwave days every year. 2010 followed by 2022 was when the state reported the highest number of heat wave days in a single year. Punjab also reported the highest number of days in 2022. Uttarakhand reported 32 days in 2010, the highest for any state since 1967. Across all these northern states, there has been an increase in the average number of heat wave days reported over the decades. Himachal Pradesh did not report any heat wave days during this period.
AP reported highest number of heat wave days in South while Karnataka reported least
Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh reported the most frequent occurrences of heat waves with more than 500 days reported since 1967. The decadal average number of heat wave days in the state was 11 in the 2010s as compared to 8 in the 1990s. Since the 1990s, the average has been on the rise. The state also reported the highest number of heat wave days in 2012 and 2014, with 16 days each year.
Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, the average number of days has gone up from 3 in the 1960s to 6 in the 2000s and has declined since then, whereas in Telangana, the average number rose from 5 in the 1970s to 7 in the 2010s. In Karnataka, on average, only one day has been reported throughout the decades. Kerala did not report any heat wave days during this period.
Significant rise in heat wave days reported in Rajasthan
While the average number of heat waves reported has been fluctuating between 2 and 3 in Gujarat, there has been a significant rise in its neighbouring state of Rajasthan, as evident in the chart below. Not only the average but there is an increasing trend in even the annually reported figures since 2011. The state also had the highest number of heat wave days reported in 2022, with 26 days and has reported more than 500 days since 1967.
Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh also saw an increase in the average number of heat wave days reported. However, the rise is not as sharp as in Rajasthan. In Maharashtra, the highest number of days for a single year was reported in 2019 with 15 days.
Even though all the Eastern states reported an increase in the average number of heat wave days, the average number of days reported during the 2010s was more than 10 in Jharkhand and Odisha. Both these states saw a stark increase in frequency in recent years.
Many states reported highest number of heat wave days in 2022
Data indicates that there has been an overall increase in the number of heat waves being recorded across almost all the states in general. Many states reported the highest number of such days in recent years and some of them, in 2022. Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana are the ones that reported the highest number of heat wave days since 1967. These states, which are heavily reliant on agriculture, are the most susceptible to the dire impact of extreme weather events.
As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), it has taken significant steps to enhance monitoring and provide timely early warnings for heatwaves, thereby minimizing loss of life and property. Collaborating with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and local health departments, IMD has initiated Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in many regions across the country. These plans aim to forecast and advise on actions to be taken during heatwave conditions.  IMD issues a daily heatwave bulletin every day, including a 5-day forecast with heatwave warnings categorized by colour codes (Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red) and detailed impact descriptions following NDMA guidelines. These bulletins are disseminated at district levels through Meteorological Centres/Regional Meteorological Centres. To improve outreach, IMD has also introduced new platforms like daily and weekly video messages for stakeholders’ easy understanding. Social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and X are also being extensively used for warning message dissemination.

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Data: Significant increase in the pendency of Economic Offences in 2020 & 2021 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 11, 2022
Data from the NCRB indicates that the pendency of economic offences both under the sections of IPC as well as various SLL has increased significantly in 2020 & 2021. The pendency of these offences at courts has crossed 90% for most offences.
In the earlier story, we analyzed the trends related to ‘Economic Offences’ registered under IPC and SLL laws in India. It was seen that the total number of cases registered under various finance related SLL Acts such as The Lotteries Regulation Act, 1998, The Chit Funds Act, 1982, The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, The Benami Transaction Prohibition Act, 1988 & 2016, The Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, 1957, and The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was the lowest in 2021 since 2017. At the same time, the number of cases of ‘economic offences’ registered under IPC has increased from 1.14 lakh cases in 2012 to an all-time high of 1.74 lakh cases in 2021. In this story, we look at the trend in these SLL related cases registered across states as well as the trends in court and police disposal of these cases.
All cases under Benami Act and 50% under Negotiable Instruments Act were registered in UP
Among the SLL Crimes, all the four cases registered under the Benami Transaction Prohibition Act in the last five years were registered in Uttar Pradesh.
Of the 218 cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 109 cases or 50% were registered in Uttar Pradesh alone. Bihar (41), Madhya Pradesh (37), Jharkhand (23), Assam (5), Telangana, Sikkim, and Himachal Pradesh (1 each), accounted for the remaining 50% of the cases registered since 2017.
A total of 450 cases under the Chit Funds Act were registered in the last five years, across 16 States/UTs. Six states – Kerala (69), Haryana (55), Karnataka (50), Chhattisgarh (46), Rajasthan (44), and Uttar Pradesh (41) together accounted for 68% of the cases. Along with Tamil Nadu (38), Assam (31), Telangana (23), and Punjab (22), the ten states accounted for 93% of the cases registered under the Chit Funds Act.
UP and Maharashtra accounted for 87% of cases under Prevention of Corruption Act
Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, a total of 3,877 cases were registered in Maharashtra and 1,156 cases in Uttar Pradesh. These two states alone accounted for more than 5000 cases (more than 87%) of the total 5,768 cases registered since 2017. Haryana registered more than 200 cases while Punjab and Assam registered more than 100 cases each. On the other hand, no cases were registered in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Telangana, and Odisha while less than 10 cases each were registered in the large states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
While over 26 thousand cases were registered under the Lotteries Regulation Act, Tamil Nadu alone had registered more than 24 thousand of these cases contributing to nearly 95% of the cases under the SLL Act. The state registered an average of close to 5000 cases under the Act every year since 2017. Kerala registered the second highest number of cases (670), and Andhra Pradesh registered the third highest (247) under this law.
As observed in the previous story, majority of the cases registered under SLL laws were under the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act which renders the illegal mining of minerals like stone, gravel, precious stones, coal, etc. a punishable offence. More than 1 lakh cases have been registered under this legislation in the last five years, and Tamil Nadu alone was accounted for almost 54% of the cases (more than 56 thousand). The state registered more than 12,000 cases on an annual basis between 2017 and 2020, which reduced to less than 8 thousand in 2021.
Five states accounted for 50% of economic offences under IPC in the last five years
The number of cases of economic offences booked under various sections of the IPC such as criminal breach of trust; forgery, cheating & fraud; and counterfeiting has gone up in the last decade. Since 2017, over 7.9 lakh cases have been registered under this head of which Rajasthan (1.12 lakh) and Uttar Pradesh (1 lakh) had registered more than 1 lakh cases each. Maharashtra (over 72 thousand cases), Telangana (66 thousand) and West Bengal (48 thousand) accounted for the third, fourth, and fifth highest number of cases of economic offences registered by police under IPC in the last five years. Together, these five states contributed to 50% of the cases.
With more than 21,000 cases registered every year except in 2020, Rajasthan reported the highest number of cases of economic offences in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021. In 2018, Uttar Pradesh overtook Rajasthan. While most states reported a dip in cases in 2020, Telangana, Kerala, and Haryana reported an increase. In 2021, cases in Telangana crossed 20,000 for the first time. The state reported an increase by almost 60% in 2021. Odisha and Madhya Pradesh witnessed a jump in cases by 51.8% and 41.3% respectively, in 2021.
More than 97% of the cases registered in Rajasthan in these five years were under Forgery, Cheating & Fraud (Secs.420, 465, 468, 471, 231‐243,255 and 489A to 489E IPC). The same was over 94% in Kerala and Telangana, 93% in Tamil Nadu, and 92% in Delhi and Karnataka as compared to the national average of 85 to 87% in the five years. Meanwhile, the share of FCF cases was less than 74% in Uttar Pradesh, and around 72% in Assam in the years under consideration.
Police Pendency of various economic SLL crimes has increased
Among the SLL Crimes related to finance and economic legislations, the chargesheeting rate has been above 90% for cases under the Lotteries Act and the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act. Under the Negotiable Instruments Act, the chargesheeting rate touched 97.8% in 2021, as compared to less than 90% in 2019 and 2020. Except for 2020 with 55.6%, the chargesheeting rate for crimes under Prevention of Corruption Act has also been above 90%.
However, the pendency rate with the police has gone up over the years. While the overall pendency has increased from 23.5% in 2017 to 61.8% in 2021, the pendency of cases under the lotteries act has gone up from 18% to 44.7% and that under the Mines and Minerals act has gone up from 21.7% to 66% during the same period.
Court disposal rate of economic and finance related crimes under SLL has dropped
The conviction rate for these cases under SLL was above 87% in 2018, which dropped to 78.7% in 2019 and climbed to 84.7% in 2021. The conviction rate under Chit Funds Act has been 100% in 2020 and 2021, while that under Mines and Minerals Act has dropped from 84.4% in 2017 to 77.7% in 2021.
About 76% of the cases were pending in 2017 which has almost touched 92% in 2021. Across all the crime-heads, the pendency of cases at courts has risen in the five years. The overall disposal of SLL crimes discussed here has dropped from 24% to 8.1% in the five years.
Meanwhile, for the economic crimes under IPC, the overall chargesheeting rate by police has dropped from 55.7% to 51.9% in these five years. Nearly 53% of the cases were pending with police in 2017 which increased to 61.1% in 2020 and fell to 55.1% in 2021. The Court’s disposal rate was 7.5% in 2016 which has dropped to 3.4% in 2021. More than 96% of the cases have been pending with the Courts in 2020 and 2021. However, there has been an improvement in conviction rate from 24.1% in 2018 to 33.6% in 2020 and 29.4% in 2021.

created: October 11, 2022


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Data: Since 1993, Only 57% of Ministries Selected for ‘Demand for Grants’ Discussion were Actually Discussed - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 18, 2023
During the budget session of the Lok Sabha every year, the ‘Demand for Grants’ of various ministries are taken up for discussion before voting. Only a few ministries are selected for discussion, and from those, only a subset are actually discussed. Here is a deep dive.
Revenue and Expenditure are the two components of a budget. While preparing the annual budget, the Government of India estimates the prospective revenue it is expected to earn during a financial year. This is important to ascertain if it is in a position to meet the expenditure that it is estimated to spend.
Each Ministry/Department in the government is required to estimate the expenditure it is expected to incur in the upcoming financial year. Based on these estimates, the allocation of the funds takes place for the functioning of the ministry and its initiatives.
Article 113 of the Constitution of India mandates that the estimates of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India included in the Annual Financial Statement and required to be voted by the Lok Sabha are submitted in the form of “Demand for Grants”.
Every ministry puts forth its ‘Demand for Grants’ to be presented as part of the Annual Budget. This has to be presented only with the prior approval of the President of India. The demand for grants includes charges and voted expenditures.
Charged expenses like interest payments, are regarded as the liabilities of the government of India and are not up for vote in Lok Sabha. Whereas, voted expenditure consists of revenue and capital expenses that would be part of a government plan in the upcoming fiscal year.
Typically, each ministry submits one demand for grant. However, multiple demands can be submitted.  Lok Sabha then decides to hold a detailed discussion on a few of these demands for grant. The ministries identified for the discussion vary each year and are decided by the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha. The discussion on these demands is followed by voting.  Demands that have not been discussed and voted on by the last day of the session are guillotined (voted together).
During the voting on ‘Demands for Grant’, MPs can express their disapproval through Cut motions. They can move these cut motions to reduce the grant amount for the respective ministry. After the ‘Demands for Grant’ are passed, they are consolidated into an ‘Appropriation Bill’.  This Bill seeks to authorise the Government to spend money from the Consolidated Fund of India.
Here is an analysis of the trends related to the discussions in Lok Sabha on the ‘Demands for Grant’. The information is based on the dataset available on Dataful, which is collated from the information provided in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs: Statistical Handbook, 2023. The data is available from 1993.
Since 1993, only about 57% of the Ministries selected were actually discussed
While all the ministries submit their ‘Demand for Grants’, only a few of them are selected to be discussed in the Lok Sabha. While there are no specific criteria for this selection, they are identified based on what the government considers to be important to be discussed.
Since 1993, a total of 155 ‘Demands for Grant’ of ministries have been selected for discussion in Lok Sabha. The highest number of ministries taken up for discussion was during the 1995 budget session with 8 ministries followed by 7 each in 1997 and 2023.
On 10 occasions, 6 ministries were selected for discussion. The least number of ministries selected for discussion was in 2002, when only 2 ministries were selected for discussion. However, it is important to note that not all the ministries that are selected for discussion are actually discussed. Out of the 155 ‘Demands for Grant’ since 1993 there were selected to be discussed, only 88 discussions actually took place. On 6 occasions, none of the ministries selected for that year’s budget were discussed. During 1998, 1999, 2004, 2013, 2018 & 2023, the ‘Demands for Grant’ for submitted to vote without discussion and were voted in full without any discussion.
On the other hand, all the ministries selected were discussed on 9 occasions. During 2009 and 2015, all the 6 ministries selected were discussed. These two years along with 1997, when 6 out of 7 selected ministries were actually discussed, is the highest number of ministries discussed in a particular year’s budget.
‘Demand for Grant’ of Home Ministry selected the highest number of times for discussion
‘Demand for Grants’ of 45 different ministries has been taken up for discussion since 1993. Out of these, 21 Ministries were selected for discussion only once. A few such ministries include – Atomic Energy, Education, Energy, New & Renewable Energy, Panchayat Raj, Petroleum & Natural Gas etc.  Demand for Grants from 14 ministries was selected twice for discussion.
Urban Development ministry was selected for discussion only once, in 2012. However, there were 2 other instances of Housing and Urban Affairs and another instance of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation selected for discussion. For analysis, all these are categorised under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The greatest number of discussions were for the Ministry of Home Affairs with 16. Agriculture and Defence are the ministries whose demand for grants was selected for discussion the next highest number of times with 13 and 12 respectively.  External Affairs, Rural Development, and Human Resource Development are a few of the other ministries whose Demand for Grants were selected more frequently for discussion.
Out of the 16 times the demand for grants of Home Ministry was selected for discussion, it was actually discussed only 10 times. In the case of the Ministry of Agriculture, the discussion was taken up for discussion 8 times. In the case of Defence ministry, the actual discussion took place only on 4 occasions despite being selected for discussion 12 times.
A few ministries like Energy, Panchayat Raj, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Culture, etc were not taken up for discussion, even though they were selected for discussion.
With nearly 15 hours, discussion related to Defence in 1995 was for the longest duration
There were 6 instances when the duration of a discussion went beyond 10 hours. Here is a snapshot of the duration of the discussions.

created: September 18, 2023


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Data: South Indian States Account for a Third of The GI Registrations
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 26, 2024
Geographical Indication (GI) Tag is given to a product/good that is unique to a location, and to safeguard the quality of the product and prevent unauthorized use of a Registered Geographical Indication by others. A total of 547 GI tags were registered in India as of August 2023. About 33% of these were registered from the Southern states.
Many products that we come across in our daily lives, such as Kashmir Saffron, Rasagola, Pochampalli Ikat or Solapur Chaddar, Darjeeling Tea, Arabica Coffee, etc. may be linked to some geographical location that proudly holds the patronage and authority to secure recognition and protection of their product in the market. The product can be a food, handicraft, or agricultural product that is unique to the place and is popular across states or even countries. Such products are the origin’s claim to fame and attract consumers from across the world because of their distinctive features.
These products are given a Geographical Indication (GI) Tag to safeguard the quality of the product and prevent unauthorized use of a Registered Geographical Indication by others. In other words, the GI Tag provides security to the unique goods that are either manufactured or produced by an individual or an association of people. GIs play a crucial role in trade and the economy. In addition to branding goods and marketing strategies, GIs have been vital for the preservation of traditional knowledge and cultural practices. It also helps contribute to rural development by supporting the regional producers.
In this story, we look at the year-wise scenario of the GI applications made and those issued registration in India.
Methodology
The data has been sourced from Dataful, which has compiled GI data published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI). The same data is used for analysis in this story.
In India, The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act (GIG Act) was passed in December 1999 and came into effect in 2003, under the purview of the MoCI. Under the same Act, the Geographical Indications Registry was introduced, in which a register of GIs is maintained containing the details of the GIs along with the basic details of the proprietors and authorized users. The product is registered initially for a period of 10 years which may be renewed once the period is over based on the provisions of the act.
547 GI goods have been registered in India in Two Decades
As per the information provided on the registry website, a total of 547 GI goods have been registered in India as of 31 August 2023.  The registration of GIs began in the year 2004-05 and the first applicant was from West Bengal for Darjeeling Tea, which has received the GI registration for both the product name and the logo.
On average, about 27 – 28 goods are registered in India annually. In the first year (2004-05) when the registrations began, only 3 goods – Darjeeling Tea, Aranmula Kannadi, and Pochampalli Ikat were registered. However, in 2008-09, 47 goods secured the GI tag. Since 2010-11, a minimum of 20 goods have secured the tag each year, except in 2020-21, when only five goods were given the tag, indicating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, recent years saw more entries into GI. While 50 and 55 goods were registered in 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively, 72 goods were registered in the year 2023-24 (up to August 2023 alone), the highest so far in a single year. Of these 72, Uttarakhand alone had 18 goods registered at 25% of the total in that year, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 9 registrations at 12.5% of the total in 2023-24.
When compared to GI registrations globally, India lags behind many nations. According to a 2018 report by the United Nations Agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India ranks at the bottom of the 20 nations, including all the European Union of Nations considered a single nation. As per the same report, India had only 330 GI registrations, preceded by Iran, Turkey, US, and Canada with 385, 398, 779, and 835 registrations, respectively. China stood on top with 7,247 GI registrations, followed by the European Union, and the Republic of Moldova with 4,968 and 4,732 registrations, respectively.
84% of the registered goods in India are either Handicrafts or Agricultural Goods
All GI-registered goods in India are categorized into five categories. These are manufactured, natural, agricultural goods, handicrafts, and foodstuffs. About 51% (280) of the registered goods belong to the Handicrafts category. Agricultural goods contributed to 182 (33%) of the 547 GI registrations. Only 45 manufactured and 38 foodstuff goods have been registered so far in the last two decades. The natural goods also saw almost negligible registrations during this tenure. Only two goods, namely Makrana Marble of Rajasthan and Chunar Balua Patthar from Uttar Pradesh have been registered so far.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Chandigarh have no entry in the registry
GIs have been registered from almost all the States and UTs, except Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, and Lakshadweep. That is, goods belonging exclusively to the states have been registered by all states except Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi while these states possess only those goods which are shared by other states. For instance, Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi along with other states share the GI tag for Basmati rice.
Of the 547 goods registered in the GI registry, 28 are shared between states. Such goods have been added to each of the states to which they belong for this analysis, because of which the total number of goods does not add up to 547.  In other words, the GI Tag for Malabar Pepper is shared among Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. For analysis, this has been added to each of these states as 1 for Kerala, 1 for Karnataka, and 1 for Tamil Nadu. Some of the examples of such shared goods are Monsooned Malabar Arabica Coffee and Monsooned Malabar Robusta Coffee from Kerala and Karnataka, Warli Painting along the Western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Kolhapuri chappal from Karnataka and Maharashtra, and Dalle Khursani which is a type of chilly from Sikkim and West Bengal.
South Indian states account for 33% of the GI registrations, while North-Eastern States account for 7.6%
Among the states, Tamil Nadu has the largest number of registered GI tags. 59 goods have been registered in the same state with 2 goods registered from multiple states where Tamil Nadu is one of the states. Uttar Pradesh is the second-highest with 56 registrations, including 2 of its goods registered with multiple states. Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra have more than 30 goods registered each, and West Bengal has 26 goods registered. Together, these 6 states account for nearly 47% of the total number of registrations (including shared). The South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry together account for one-third (181) of the total registrations, including the figures of goods registered along with other states.
The seven-sister states of the Northeast show a lower number of GI registrations with only 42 GI registrations from all the 7 states combined, accounting for about 7.6% of total GI registrations so far in India. Among the 7 states, only Assam has double-digit figures with 11 registrations, while Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Mizoram have 1, 5, 2, 8, 7, and 7 registrations, respectively.
Italy accounts for nearly 50% of the Goods registered from outside India
Of the 547 registered goods, the origin of 34 goods is outside India. These products are registered in India to ensure recognition and protection of their rights. These products are mainly cheese, wines, and spirits. A total of 14 countries including the UK, USA, Ireland, France, Italy, Mexico, Thailand, Peru, Portugal, Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, Spain, and Chile have registered products in India. About 50% of these registered goods from outside India are from Italy. In 2021-22 alone, Italy registered 9 goods including Gorgonzola cheese and Toscano vine.
Among the 34 non-Indian origin goods registered, 30 were manufactured goods, 3 were foodstuffs, and one was handicraft – the Lamphun Brocade Thai Silk from Thailand.
More than 500 applications are Pending Scrutiny
The GI registry has received a total of 1175 applications since inception, as of 31 August 2023. About 517 applications were pending scrutiny. Some of the latest applications are for the Mysore Agarbatti, Telecherry Pepper, Vazhakkulam Pineapple, and Paithan’s Paithani, among others.
While India is well known for its vast diversity in Art, Agricultural, Natural, and other aspects, the data shows only 547 GI registrations being done so far. Out of these, natural goods account for only two. The data indicates the need for improvement in awareness and registrations of goods, especially to meet the GI Act’s goal of protecting and preserving the goods from unauthorized usage, and also to maintain their quality.
Featured Image: Geographical Indication tags

created: January 26, 2024


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Data: Southern States have lower population share in the 0-14 age group
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 11, 2020
As per the SRS 2018 data, about 25.9% of India’s population is in the 0-14 age group. However, this share in the southern states is much lower in the southern states and ranges from 19.8% to 23%. At an All-India level, the share of working age population (15-59 years) has increased in the last few years while the share of elderly has dropped slightly compared to 2016.
July 11 is adopted as World Population Day by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989 to bring attention, urgency and importance to population related issues. This year, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the world’s largest multilateral source of funding for population and reproductive health programs has decided to raise awareness  about the sexual and reproductive health needs and vulnerabilities of women & girls during the pandemic. This is to safeguard the hard-fought gains and ensure that sexual & reproductive health rights stay on the local agenda, and to explore how to maintain the momentum towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
Against the backdrop of world population day, this story takes a look at the population composition in India, the second most populous country in the world, as reported in the recently released annual Sample Registration System survey 2018. Age is one of the vital demographic characteristics, which is useful for the government to formulate policies or to plan developmental and health programs.
Since India gained independence, there has been considerable improvement in its health parameters such as life expectancy, healthcare facilities and education, and drop in fertility and mortality rates, which have contributed by and large to the demographic changes witnessed since then. Since 1971, proportion of India’s population under the age of 14 years has declined from 41.2% to 25.9% in 2018. Simultaneously, the proportion of elderly population, aged 60 years and above has increased from 5.3% to 8.1%.
About two thirds of India’s population belong to the working age group
As per the 2018 SRS survey results, 8% of the population were infants aged up to 4 years old, 8.6% were aged between 5 to 9 years, and 9.3% were aged between 10 to 14 years, at the national level. More than 34% of Bihar’s population constituted of children up to 14 years of age while Andhra Pradesh had reported only 19.8%. It can be seen that the total fertility rate of Bihar was the highest and that of Andhra Pradesh was among the lowest, which could be the reason for the huge difference in the share of under-15 age group.
India’s working population aged between 15 to 59 years constituted 66% of total population of the country. In contrast to the population composition of children (under 14) in the respective states, the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have reported more than 70% of population falling in the working category as against Bihar, which reported the least, less than 60% of the population in the working category. A total of 8.1% of the India’s population were aged above 60 years, ranging from 6.3% in Bihar to close to 13% in Kerala.
Slight drop in the share of elderly population compared to 2016
The share of elderly population (60 years & above) has gradually increased since 1971. However, data from the past eight years indicates that the percentage of elderly persons in the population increased from 8% in 2011 to 8.3% in 2012 and stayed consistent till 2016. Compared to 2016, it has slightly decreased to 8.1% in SRS 2018.
Meanwhile, the share of those of those aged between 0 to 14 years has dropped significantly, from 29.4% in 2011 to 25.9% in 2018. The working population (15 to 59 years) has increased from 62.5% in 2011 to 66% in these eight years.
Southern states have lower share of population in the 0-14 age group
State-wise data indicates that the share of population in the 0 to 14 years is lower in southern states compared to the rest of the country. In fact, the number has been decreasing for the past few years. Southern states reported a higher share of persons in the working age and senior citizens categories. For instance, in 2018, the share of population in the 0-14 age group in southern states was between 19.8% in Andhra Pradesh and 23% in Karnataka. The highest such share in Karnataka (23%) is still lower than the national average of 25.9%.  At the same time, national average share of persons above 60 years of age was 8.1% while the southern states reported between 8.1% to 12.9% in that age group. Similarly, in the case of working age group, India reported 66% while southern states reported between 68.6% to 71.1%, except Karnataka.
Share of Females more than Male counterparts in working age and elderly categories
In 2018, a total of 64.7% of females in rural areas and 69.6% of females in urban areas fell in the working age category of 15 to 59 years. This was higher than that of their male counterparts- 64.3% in rural areas, and 68.7% in urban areas. Among the elderly population, the percentage of female population stood at 8.4% in both rural and urban areas, higher than that of male population, which was 7.6% in rural and 8.2% in urban areas.
However, in case of children under 15 years of age, it was observed that proportion of females was lesser than that males by around 1%. In rural areas, the share of female population in this age group was reported as 27% whereas in urban areas, the percentage was lower at 22%. The sex ratio at birth i.e. number of females per 1000 males, is lower in urban areas as compared to rural areas since 2012. Between 2016-18, the child sex ratio at birth was 900 in rural areas and 897 in urban areas. The percentage of male population falling in this category stood at 28.1% in rural areas and 23.1% in urban areas.
A greater share of persons in the working age group are in Urban areas than in Rural areas
The data also indicated that the proportion of persons in urban areas was higher than that in rural areas in case of persons in the working age and senior citizens. At the same time, there were more children (under-15) in rural areas, than in urban areas. This may be the result of lower fertility rate in urban areas compared to rural areas.
Also, the proportion of women was more in the working age group and elderly category as against the proportion of men. Urban areas accounted for a greater share of persons than rural areas in these two categories. One reason for this might be the migration of rural population to urban areas seeking better opportunities in the working age group.
Migration to Southern states may continue
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had indicated that population explosion may pose challenges to the future generations during his Independence Day speech in 2019. However, if the current trends continue, the proportion of persons in the working age will decrease and the proportion of elderly persons will increase in the long run as health facilities and life expectancy improves. Furthermore, inter region disparities can also lead to increased influx of migrants into the southern states. For instance, Bihar which has a higher share of children now will have more persons in the working population in the coming 20 to 30 years, unlike in the southern states.
Featured Image: India’s population


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Data: Southern States Lead Both in Number of Subscribers & Amount Deposited Under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 15, 2024
As part of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was launched in 2015 to facilitate small savings to be made on behalf of the girl children by their parents or the legal guardian, to meet the girl child’s future financial needs of education and marriage. Data indicates that the southern states lead both in the number of subscribers and the amount deposited under the scheme.
The Government of India in the year 2015 had launched Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) campaign with objectives of improving child sex ratio, protecting girl children, and encouraging them to pursue education and ensure their participation, among other objectives. As part of the same campaign, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) was launched in the same year. The scheme facilitated for small savings to be made on behalf of the girl children by their parents or the legal guardian, to meet the girl child’s future financial needs of education and marriage.
In this story, we look at the features of SSY Scheme and the trends in number of subscribers registered and amount deposited, and the performance of states.
Methodology
The story uses data of SSY scheme and Population Projection datasets, compiled by Dataful, for analysis. The union territories are not covered in the analysis of the story.
Eligibility Criteria and Benefits of SSY Scheme:
As per the National Saving Institute (NSI), the eligibility criteria prescribed for the SSY scheme include the following:
Data shows steep increase in Registered Subscribers and Amount Deposited
The data published by the NSI on the total number of registered subscribers and the total amount deposited with the Post Offices and Banks under SSY scheme shows that both these have grown consistently every year, since its launch year 2015.
The SSY scheme (scheme) data shows that by the end of December 2015, the number of registered subscribers was 41,54,357 and the total amount deposited was Rs. 3,370 crores. From this year onwards, the number of subscribers and the amount deposited under SSY has increased consistently. By the end of the year 2023, the total number of registered subscribers and the total amount deposited has increased to 3,74,18,504 and Rs. 2,09,991 crores, respectively. The average annual growth rate after the first year is around 22% in the case of subscribers and about 48% in the case of the amount deposited under SSY.
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Dominate in Number of Subscribers of Amount Deposited
Since the inception of the scheme, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have dominated it in terms of each state’s net share in the total number of registered subscribers and total amount deposited, across all the years. Each of these states has consistently had about 9% or more of the all-India share each year in both the number of registered subscribers and the total amount deposited under the scheme.
As per the scheme data, the year 2015 was dominated by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh states with 23%, 20%, and 12% shares, respectively, in terms of the total number of subscribers registered under the scheme. In the subsequent years of 2016 to 2018, though the total share of these states has come down to an average of about 10-11%, they have continued to be the top 3 states in the percentage of share in total number of subscribers. The only change that happened in the next years 2019 to 2023 is that the State of Karnataka was replaced by the State of Maharashtra in the top 3 states, while the States of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh continued to remain among the top 3 states. The overall share of each of these states in the total number of subscribers in the scheme remained at about an average of 9-11% each year.
However, if the number of registered subscribers per lakh population (based on projected population up to October 2023) is considered, the northern states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand stand in the first and second places with 6,483 and 5,358 subscribers per lakh population, respectively, which is double the national average figure of 2,681. The States of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka occupied the third and fourth positions with 4,577 and 4,123 subscribers per lakh population. The State of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh stand in 18 and 24 positions respectively with 2,655 and 1,749 subscribers per lakh population, which is below the national average.
Further, according to the scheme data, the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh have consistently stood as the top 3 states across all the years from 2015 to 2023 in the percentage share of the total amount deposited under the scheme. Their share in the year 2015 was 19%, 19% and 11%, respectively. Subsequently, as the trend witnessed in the number of subscribers, though their share has dropped down to an average of about 10 to 11%, they have remained as the top 3 states in the share to total amount deposited under the scheme.
If the total amount of money deposited per lakh population is considered, the states of Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Uttarakhand occupied the first three places with 43, 40, and 30 crores deposited. The states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu secure the 5th and 6th positions with 29 and 27 crores deposited per lakh population. The state of Maharashtra has occupied the 13th position with 15 crores deposited per lakh population and Uttar Pradesh is in the 21 position with 9 crores deposited per lakh population, which is below the national average figure of 15 crores deposited per lakh population.
Therefore, the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been on the top both in terms of absolute numbers and normalized figures based on the projected population of states.
Southern and Western States account for 47% and 51% of the Total Subscribers and Amount Deposited, respectively, as of 2023
As of December 2023, the total number of subscribers under the SSY scheme is 3.74 crores and the total amount deposited is Rs. 2,09,991 crores; both these parameters show an impressive growth over the years. However, the growth rate has not been uniform across the states.
As per the scheme data, as of December 2023, the total share of southern states viz. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana in the total number of subscribers to scheme stood at 4%, 7%, 3%, 9% and 3%, respectively. Similarly, their overall share in the total amount deposited up to December 2023 is 6%, 10%, 3%, 10% and 4%, respectively. The overall share of these states in the total number of subscribers and the amount deposited is 27% and 33%, respectively, which is the highest in the country among various regions.
After the southern states, the share of 4 western states viz. Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan in the total number of subscribers up to December 2023 stood at 0.1%, 5%, 9% and 6%, respectively. Similarly, their overall share in the total amount deposited up to December 2023 is 0.3%, 3%, 10% and 5%, respectively. The overall share of these states in the total number of subscribers and the amount deposited is 20% and 18%, respectively.
Together, the 9 states of southern and western India constitute to about 47% of the total number of subscribers registered and 51% of the total amount deposited under the scheme. Thus, nearly half of the share in the number of subscribers and over half of the share in the amount deposited under SSY is of these 9 states of India. Data also indicates that their share both in both the total number of subscribers and the amount deposited is higher than their share of the total population, which is 40% of India’s population.
North-Eastern States Accounted for Least Number of Subscribers and Amount Deposited
Though the overall trend in the number of subscribers and amount deposited has increased over the years, the data shows that the 7 states of the country’s north-eastern region have accounted for the lowest percentage share in terms of the number of subscribers and amount deposited.
The scheme data shows that from the year 2015 to the year 2023, the overall share of each of the northeastern states in the number of subscribers has been below 1% every year, except Assam. Assam’s share each year was more than 1% in most years.
Similarly, even on the total amount of money deposited, none of the northeastern states, including Assam, had more than a 2% share. The highest share was by the states of Assam and Meghalaya at 1.24% each during the years 2015 and 2017, respectively.
When one compares regions, the total share of all the northeastern states up to December 2023 remains at only 2.6% of the total number of subscribers and 1.5% of the amount deposited under SSY across India. The overall population share of the 7 states combined is about 3.73%. Hence, their share in total subscribers & amount deposited is even lower than their population share.
Further, when one analyses the number of subscribers and amount deposited per lakh population, these numbers are also very low in the northeastern states. In the number of subscribers per lakh population, four north-eastern states viz. Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya occupy the bottom four positions with 28 to 31 ranks, respectively.


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Data: Southern States on The Top, Kerala Outperforms All Other States in ICT Skills
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 28, 2023
The NSS 78th Round – Multi-indicator Survey looked at nine ICT skills of the young population between 15-29 years, which are also the skills identified by UNO under SDG-4. Across most of these skills, the Southern states are consistently in the top-5 in terms of the population that possess these skills with Kerala outperforming all other states by a huge margin.
In the first part of the series on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills measured in the NSS 78th Round – Multi-Indicator Survey, the primary focus was to look at the rural-urban divide and gender-wise disparities in terms of possession of ICT Skills. The results from the analysis show that there is a significant rural-urban divide and a visible gender disparity in possessing ICT Skills. Further, this variance is analogous with the level of skill, with higher skills heavily skewing towards urban and male respondents.
In this second part, we look at these trends state-wise. In other words, the goal is to analyse the trends for both inter-state and intra-state variations. The skill categorization used in this part is the same as the first part. Data from North-Eastern and Union territories is excluded to remove the scope for outliers, and data of only 15-29 years of age is considered for this analysis.
The data regarding the ICT Skills from the NSS 78th Multiple-Indicator survey is taken from Factly’s Dataful website.
Only 8 states out of 18 large states have more than 50% population who possess basic ICT skills
For the purpose of this analysis, data for the most basic ICT skill – Copying or Moving a file or folder is considered. It is observed that, among the 18 large states in India, only 8 states have reported more than 50% population with the ability to perform this operation This number is almost similar even if we consider the next basic skill- use copy or paste tools to duplicate information. Interestingly, four out of these 8 states are from the South of India.
In an era of the growing importance of digital skills and technological progress, and despite various skilling missions by successive governments, such limited exposure of the population to even some of the most basic ICT skills is concerning.
Only Kerala with more than 40 percent that can create electronic presentation.
If we consider the data of the population that can create an electronic presentation with presentation software (including text, images, sound, video, or charts), no state among the 18 large states have more than 40 percent with that ability. Kerala tops with 40.3% followed by Tamil Nadu with 26.1%, and Karnataka with 22.5%. Rest all states have below 20 percent population with that ability.
Kerala outperforms rest of states in all ICT Skills
The data on the ICT skills across states show that Kerala dominates other states in all the ICT skills measured. The difference between Kerala and the next best state is significantly large, indicating the exceptional performance of Kerala. Further, the difference between Kerala and All-India scores also indicates that Kerala is far ahead in terms of its performance in ICT skills.
Southern states dominate among the best performing states.
If we consider the high-performing states in each ICT skill, it is evident that almost 4 out of the top-5 performing states belong to the southern region. States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana consistently fared in the top-5 high performers, while northern states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh recorded very low scores in almost all ICT skills. With increasing skill levels, the gap between the highest and lowest-performing states gets narrowed. However, this has more to do with the complexity of the skill category and the proportion of the population possessing them. That is, for basic skills, a higher proportion may possess such skills whereas, for advanced skills, only a smaller proportion possesses such skills, making the difference between top and bottom-performing states narrow.
Urban-rural divide almost absent in advance ICT skills for Kerala
For analysis, the proportion of the population who reported the ability to write a computer program using a specialised programming language was chosen, since it is a highly skilled activity. It is observed that states like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh have significantly higher proportions of population reporting this skill. However, within these states, there is a clear urban-rural divide across the same gender with urban areas dominating the rural areas. However, for Kerala, the urban-rural divide is very small or almost negligible. Such equal distribution of proportion in each gender represents a growing interest to acquire higher skills in rural areas as well. Despite this, the gender divide still remains.
Way forward:
The 21 century is often termed the century of the digital revolution. Huge changes are taking place in the technological spheres across the globe. While the world is making strides in adopting digital literacy and enhancing competency, there is still a lot of work to do in India. It is disheartening to see that more than half of the large states do not even have half of the young population possessing basic ICT skills. It is high time that adequate focus be given by governments to ensure that youth possess the requisite digital skills.
Featured Image: NSS 78th Round – Multi-indicator Survey


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SRS 2018 shows the strong correlation between Education Level & Fertility Rate
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 9, 2020
The results of the Sample Registration System survey 2018 have been recently released. The data notes significant gains in female literacy. It also reveals the strong correlation between the literacy rate of women & fertility rates.
The Sample Registration System survey is an annual demographic survey published by the Registrar General of India. The survey gives an estimate of various demographic factors such as birth rates, death rates, fertility, and mortality rates, both at national level and state levels, indicating the progress in socio-economic development. Continuous enumeration of births and deaths in selected sample units is carried out by enumerators who are usually Anganwadi workers and Teachers. In addition to this, SRS supervisors carry out independent surveys every six months. The data recorded in both cases is matched. In instances where the data does not match or if there is partial difference, it is cross checked.
The sample unit for the survey in case of rural areas, is a village or a segment of the village if the population is more than 2000. In case of urban areas, the sampling unit is a census enumeration block with a population between 750 to 1000. At present, SRS survey is operational in 8847 sample units including 4961 rural and 3886 urban sample units across the country. Recently, the results of SRS 2018 were published.
People above the age of seven who can read and write in any language are considered literate
Those who are aged above seven and can read and write with understanding in any language are considered literate. Even those without any formal education who satisfy this criteria are considered literate. As of 2018, around 18.9% of the females had an education up to class X, 12.5% up to class XII, and only 9.8% had an education equivalent to graduate level and above. 4.9% of the females were literate but did not have any formal education. It is observed that the percentage of women who completed school education in 2018 was higher than that in 2017.
Female literacy rate among those aged between 15 to 49 years is increasing
Percentage of literate women in the age group of 15 to 49 years has been continuously increasing. Since 2011, the average literacy rate of women in this age group has increased from 68.5% to 87% in 2018. 13% of the women in the said age group fall in the ‘Illiterate’ category.
Fertility level is influenced by literacy level
Female education has a direct impact on fertility level. Certain studies suggest that higher female literacy level is important for population stabilization and better infant health. The impact of female literacy is independent of male literacy. Total Fertility Rate, abbreviated as TFR, is defined as the number of children born to a woman until the end of her child-bearing age. Higher the TFR, more is the number of children a woman may give birth to. Female literacy is expected to let women make more informed decisions. Not just that, women will also be able to support themselves and family, and will have more bargaining power, once educated. However, other parameters such as general health of population, government support programs, etc., also influence the fertility levels.
Total fertility rate is declining over the years
In India, as already seen above, the literacy rate among women in the 15-49 age group has been increasing. At the same time, TFR has been decreasing for the past few years. Traditionally, Rural areas have always recorded a higher TFR compared to urban areas. Between 2006 and 2018, the total TFR dropped from 2.8 to 2.2, implying that on average, a woman gave birth 3 children in 2006, and in 2018, it has reduced to 2. While the TFR in urban areas dropped from 2 to 1.7, the same in rural areas dropped from 3.1 to 2.4 during the 13 years.
As education level among women increases, a decline in TFR is witnessed
As demonstrated in the subsequent chart, the TFR for women reduces with education. The TFR among illiterate women stood at 3. This means that on an average, an illiterate woman had three children. The same among women who were literate and did not have any formal education was 2.5. Among those who had education, the overall fertility rate of women with education below primary level stood at 2.9 while those with primary level education had TFR of 2.5. Women with education up to middle level had a fertility rate of 2.2. and those educated beyond class X had TFR below 2.
Kerala and Himachal Pradesh have higher female literacy levels and lower fertility rates
State-wise data reveals that eight (8) states among the larger states have female literacy rate more than 90%. Kerala continues to record the highest female literacy rate. In 2016, Kerala’s female literacy rate was 99.2%, which increased to 99.3% in 2017 and 99.5% in 2018. Meanwhile, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh continue to record the worst female literacy rate even though the states have reported a substantial improvement over the previous years. Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh recorded female literacy rates of 76.5%, 77.4%, and 79.7% respectively as per SRS 2018.
The same is also reflected in the TFR recorded in the states. It is evident that states which have recorded lower female literacy rates have a higher TFR. Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh have recorded a TFR of 3.2, 2.5, and 2.9 respectively while Kerala and Himachal Pradesh which have highest female literacy level of 99.5% and 98.8%, have a TFR of 1.7 and 1.6 respectively.
Higher Fertility Rate & increasing population inhibit development
Increasing population & higher population growth rate is a cause for concern for India. While some argue that increased population provides more working age population and creates a big consumer market, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages.
With increasing population & higher fertility rate, health risks for children and their mothers increase. It is also seen that in countries with higher fertility rates, economic growth is stunted. The implications on the environment should not be neglected as well. A study by World Bank in 2010 also highlighted how the countries with higher fertility rates lagged behind in important development indicators.
All this means that education of women which leads to low fertility rates is necessary for a healthy & prosperous nation. Only then, more women can take part in economic activities  and make informed choices, leading to greater socio-economic development of country.
Featured Image: Sample Registration System survey 2018


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Data: SRS Bulletin Highlights the Wide Variation of MMR Across States, Assam’s MMR 10 Times That of Kerala’s.
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 9, 2022
The Registrar General of India (RGI) recently released the annual Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India for the period 2018-2020. At the national level, the MMR has dropped from 103 during 2017-19 to 97 during 2018-20. However, there are wide variations across state. Assam’s MMR is 10 times that of Kerala’s.
Maternal mortality reflects the capacity of health systems to effectively prevent and address the complications occurring during pregnancy and childbirth. Apart from being used as a measure of the quality and access to the health care system, maternal mortality-related indicators also reflect the state of nutrition, health, and empowerment of women. Recently, the Registrar General of India (RGI) released the annual Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India for the period 2018-2020. The report is based on RGI’s Sample Registration System (SRS) which is one of India’s largest demographic sample surveys. The survey takes into account a nationally representative sample for providing direct estimates of maternal mortality in the country. As maternal deaths are considered a rare event, the estimates have been calculated by pooling in the data for three years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. The maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.
MMR has dropped significantly since independence
As per the Central government’s Health Survey and Development Committee report of 1946, popularly known as the Bhore Committee report, the MMR in the country was around 20 deaths per thousand live births or 2,000 deaths per 100,000 livebirths in the mid-1940s before India became an independent country. According to the Health Survey and Planning Committee’s report headed by L Mudaliar, India’s MMR decreased to 10 per thousand live births or 1000 per 100,000 live births in 1959. After nearly three decades, in 1990, India’s MMR was 556. Approximately, 1.38 lakh women died every year due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth back then. This improvement may be attributed to the overall improvement in access to healthcare such as institutional births, pre-ante-natal care, education, and other factors which have also improved over the years.
India has achieved the NHP target of MMR
In the recent years, India has made considerable progress in reducing MMR. From 327 in 1999-01, there has been a gradual decline in the MMR over the last two decades, according to the SRS’s data on maternal mortality. It should be noted that the years for which the ratio has been published are not continuous. The MMR dropped by 230 points between 1999-01 and 2018-20 recording a decrease of more than 70% in 20 years. In 2018-20, the MMR dropped below 100 for the first time. With this, India has achieved the National Health Policy (NHP)’s target for MMR of less than 100 per lakh live births. India’s next target would be to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)’s target of MMR less than 70 per lakh live births by 2030.
High Variance of MMR across states
While the NHP target has been achieved at the national level, MMR at the state level is vastly different. Assam’s MMR (195) was more than ten times that of Kerala (19), in 2018-20. It must be noted that the report categorizes states into three groups to understand the maternal mortality situation in the country better. These are:
The report presents data only for major states. The value for smaller states and UTs is clubbed together.
Southern states have achieved SDG target already while some states are far above the national average
The MMR was the highest in Assam with 195, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh with 173 and 167 respectively. These values are comparable with the national MMR over a decade ago. In 2018-20, eight states had achieved the SDG target- Kerala (19), Maharashtra (33), Telangana (43), Andhra Pradesh (45), Tamil Nadu (54), Jharkhand (56), Gujarat (57) and Karnataka (69) with MMR less than 70. All the southern states have achieved the SDG target. Unlike its neighbouring states, Jharkhand had a low MMR, lower than that of even Karnataka. The MMR was 77 for smaller states and UTs and was above 100 in all the remaining major states. Meanwhile, the MMR in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand has increased in 2018-20 as compared to the previous survey in 2017-19.
MMR in Haryana, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand has increased in the last few years
The trend in MMR across the major states reveals that there has been significant improvement in MMR across all the states in the last two decades. The MMR in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh has dropped by nearly 400 points while that in Odisha has fallen by more than 300 points. In Assam, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, the MMR had fallen by over 200 points. However, in terms of percentage drop in MMR, the improvement has been the best in Kerala by 87% from 149 in 1999-01 to 19 in 2018-20 followed by Maharashtra with 80% (169 in 1999-01 to 33 in 2018-20).
Kerala was the first state to record a two-digit MMR with 95 in 2004-05 followed by Tamil Nadu with 97 in 2007-09. Kerala had already achieved the SDG target set for 2030 even before the goals came into force. By 2015-17, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and ‘Others’ had also registered MMR below 100 in 2015-17. However, the MMR in West Bengal, Uttarakhand, and Haryana has increased since then and crossed 100 again by 2018-20.
India would achieve SDG target before 2030, but not all states will
At the current rate of progress, India might reach the SDG target of 70 deaths per lakh live births before 2030. However, this need not be the case across all the states. States like Assam, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh are still over a decade behind with respect to the status of MMR compared to the national average. Studies have also highlighted how the pandemic resulted in increased maternal mortality and stillbirth, maternal stress, and ruptured ectopic pregnancies due to the inability of healthcare systems to cope.
Numerous measures are being implemented to bring down the MMR. These include schemes and outreach programs such as Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya), Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Surakshit Matratva Ashwasan (SUMAN), etc. which provide awareness, financial assistance, nutrition, and healthcare to pregnant women. India also has Maternal Death Surveillance Review (MDSR) which is implemented both at facilities and at the community level to identify and study the causes and other factors contributing to maternal death. Through this, targeted interventions may be rolled out to address the issue.
It is evident from the data that some states will have to put in double the effort to achieve the SDG target before 2030.
Featured Image: Maternal Mortality in India

created: December 9, 2022


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Data: Standing Committee Notes That Private Investment Including Beneficiary Contribution is About 60% of Overall Expenditure Under PMAY(U)
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 14, 2023
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing & Urban Affairs recently submitted a report on the ‘Evaluation of implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Urban). Here is a review.
The growth and development of cities and towns, facilitated by urbanization, has resulted in a significant number of social issues. The issue of housing for everyone is one of the most “persistent” among them. Housing forms a vital component of social, economic, and civic growth. Despite the obvious linkages between housing and socioeconomic objectives, there has been little advancement on this front.
The inability to build liveable communities based on the availability of housing that satisfies residents’ requirements could trigger a new crisis. To avert such a crisis, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs introduced a comprehensive housing program, the ‘Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Urban Housing for All Mission (PMAY-U-HFA)’ in 2015. The central aim of this mission is to provide all-weather pucca houses with basic civic infrastructure for all urban areas.
In today’s story, we look at the Standing Committee report on ‘Evaluation of implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Urban).
Overview of the scheme
The Mission intends to offer Central Assistance to implementing agencies through States/Union Territories (UTs) for the provision of all-weather pucca dwellings with fundamental civic facilities, with a total investment of Rs. 8.31 lakh crores.  The total housing shortage the mission envisages to cover is 20 million.
Under PMAY(U), 4,500 cities and municipalities have so far been included. Under the four verticals of PMAY(U), namely In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR), Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), and Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC), a total of 1.22 crore homes have been approved. Additionally, 183 ongoing projects from the previous Rajiv Awaas Yojana (RAY) have been incorporated into PMAY-U.
The Mission’s initial time frame was from 2015–16 through 2021–22. The Mission has now been expanded to include all verticals through the end of 2024, except for the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). However, no additional houses will be sanctioned during the extended period.
A brief overview of the four verticals of PMAY (U) is as below.
Only 60% of the target houses are constructed.
States and UTs evaluated the validated housing requirement under PMAY(U). The PMAY-U implemented a strategy of giving prospective beneficiaries the option to select one of the four verticals of the Scheme in accordance with their preferences. The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee approved the projects that the States and UTs requested after considering the vertical requirements and the resources that are available to them.
As per the PMAY dashboard, a total demand of 112.24 lakh houses was made, and around 120.25 lakh houses are sanctioned (This value is 122.69 lakh as per the report of Standing Committee on 31 March 2023). Out of the 120.25 lakh sanctioned houses, 110.02 lakh houses are grounded, and about 73.13 lakh (60%) houses have been completed till 10 April 2023. On the financial front, a total of Rs. 1,44,250 crores have been released, while Rs. 1,35,969 crores have been spent till 10 April 2023.
Poor performance of North-Eastern States
If we look at the progress of states in PMAY, it is evident that North-Eastern states have performed poorly. Excepting Tripura, all other states have their progress below 45%. Among the large states, Telangana made highest progress with 89.5%, followed by Gujarat with 82.68% and Tamil Nadu with 76.08%. Bihar stood last among large states with progress of 33.25%, preceded by Andhra Pradesh with 34.60% and Haryana with 38.26%.
The reason for poor performance in North-Eastern states is quoted to be the minimal/nil state share and the geographical reasons. However, the reasons for such low performance in major states is not specified.
Beneficiary Led construction (BLC)- A popular choice among all verticals.
The states/UTs/Beneficiaries were free to select any of the four verticals of the Scheme depending on its suitability, without any preference being given to any particular vertical. However, the BLC vertical received the most project approvals (i.e., 60%), whereas the ISSR vertical received the fewest approvals (i.e., 3%).  The state’s preference in providing homes to individuals who own land and those who live in smaller cities accounts for the appeal of BLC vertical. For the low demand generation under ISSR vertical, it is said that they are time-taking as they require the consent of the people living, which makes it slightly complicated.
The component wise progress of the scheme is as depicted below.
3/5th of the total investment is made by the beneficiaries themselves
Initially, the validated demand for houses was pegged at 1.12 crore houses, for which an estimated Rs. 6.95 lakh crore investment was projected. However, the investment increased to Rs. 8.31 lakh crore after an increase in the demand to 1.23 crore houses. The entire investment is not borne by the Central government but is divided among different stakeholders.
The private investment including beneficiary contribution accounts for 3/5 of the total investment (Rs. 4.95 lakh crores), while the public expenditure accounts for the rest (Rs. 3.36 lakh crores).
If we look at the central assistance, the maximum assistance a beneficiary receives is highest (up to Rs. 2.67 Lakh) in CLSS vertical, followed by Rs. 1.5 Lakh in BLC/AHP vertical and Rs. 1 Lakh under ISSR vertical. However, the average central assistance per beneficiary in CLSS vertical has been Rs. 2.31 Lakh, which is still highest among all verticals.
Some recommendations to improve the mission.
The Standing Committee observed several shortcomings that led to the delayed progress of the mission. Among them, the general recommendations include setting-up timelines for grounding and completion of projects, ensuring basic amenities in houses constructed under ISSR and AHP verticals, and involving local elected representatives in the implementation of policy. Other key recommendations are specified as below.


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Data: Stark Difference in Share of Women in Organized and Unorganized Sectors both in India and Globally - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 5, 2024
The United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (UNEAFDW) states that its state parties emphatically affirm to both recognize and ensure that women and men should participate and contribute on a basis of equality in all processes and sectors. We look at the data related to share of Women in organized and unorganized Sectors.
Recognizing the fundamental right to equality of women with men in all spheres of life such as social, political, economic, and other forms, nations around the world have vowed to eradicate all forms of inequality against women, especially in the last few decades. To this effect, the United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (UNEAFDW) states that its state parties emphatically affirm to both recognize and ensure that “women and men should participate and contribute on a basis of equality in the social, economic and political processes of development and should share equally in improved conditions of life.”
Gender-bias and inequality towards women are a globally prevailing issues for centuries. It continues even as on date as one of the social evils plaguing modern society. The global conventions such as EAFDW and the respective national policies, legislations and other such initiatives in the last few decades have paved the way to both empower and uplift the status of women in equality with men. However, it remains a distant reality to be achieved in many countries, especially in the employment and economic sectors.
In this story, we look at the global and national situation of equality of women in the employment and economic sectors.
Global Data shows Employment and Economic Inequality prevailing against Women
The 2016 Global data published by United Nations Women (UN Women) has revealed glaring inequality and gender discrimination in the employment and economic sectors even today.
The above data on different types of employment shows a sharp difference between men and women in terms of employment share in services and the informal sector to the organized and more remunerative forms of employment.
For instance, the data shows that women employees constitute to only about 14% in the industry sector and only 4% of women serve as CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies. Therefore, the percentage of women representation in the organized employment sector is extremely low. However, the percentage of women engaged in the unorganized sectors is very high, when compared to men. The UN data shows that 80% of domestic workers, 73% of domestic migrant workers, 57% of domestic workers with no work limitations and 44% of migrant workers are women. Further, 61% of those working in services such as health, education, retail trade, etc. are women. Thus, these facts reveal the higher representation of women in low-paid forms of employment such as the services and informal sector than in the higher-paid forms of employment such as industry, etc. This is further substantiated by the fact that globally, on average, women earn only 77 cents for each dollar earned by men.
To this effect, the UN notes that “Even as globalization has brought millions of women into paid labour, the number of women in the workforce is far behind that of men. Gender inequalities have also concentrated women at the bottom of the global value chain — in the lowest paid jobs, in piece-rate, subcontracted work, and insecure forms of self-employment, with little or no access to decent work and social protection. Women are half the world’s potential and unleashing it requires access to decent, good-quality paid work as well as gender-sensitive policies and regulations, such as adequate parental leave and flexible hours. The economics make sense, too: If women played an identical role in labour markets to that of men, as much as US$28 trillion, or 26 per cent, could be added to the global annual Gross Domestic Product by 2025.”
This underlines the unequal representation of women in the employment sector and their share in the economy. The same report also noted that only 49% of women in the working age group are engaged in the work when compared to men at 76%. Most importantly, the UN notes that if women are engaged in identical positions to men, it will add to 26% more of the total global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As the UN further notes, if such inequality is removed, it will not only add to the just society but also help in growing the economy of various countries.
Studies show Women of India still underrepresented in Employment
The position of women in employment and their share in the economy is also poor in India. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) report titled ‘The Global Gender Gap Report’ revealed several facts regarding this. The report compiled the gender equality status of a number of countries starting in the year 2006 and published every year after that. As per the same report, the overall rank of India in gender equality in the year 2006 was 98 out of the 115 countries whose data was considered for the report. As per the 2023 report, the rank was 127 out of 146 countries. Further, in the year 2006, India ranked 110, 102, 103 and 20 respectively among the four parameters viz. Economic participation and opportunity, Educational attainment, Health and survival and Political empowerment, that were measured to evaluate gender equality performance. Similarly, in the year 2023, India’s rank in the same parameters was 142, 26, 142 and 59, respectively.
Coinciding with these facts, the recent 2021 official study conducted by the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (NIRD&PR) noted that Indian women’s’ contribution to the total GDP of India is only 18%. Comparatively, women in countries such as China, Vietnam, and Japan contribute to about 41%, 40% and 33% of the total GDP of the respective countries. Even in one of the smallest countries of the world, Sri Lanka, the contribution to national GDP by women is 29%. Further, as per World Bank (WB), the overall contribution of women to the global GDP is 37%.
Various studies clearly depict the disadvantaged and unequal position of Indian women in the economy and employment. Pertinently, the NIRD&PR report goes on to say that if the women of India had the same participation rate as that of men, its GDP would increase by about 43%. In other words, there is a significant opportunity in India if inequality against women is reduced.
Women share in Employment in India is low in Organized Sector but high in Unorganized Sector
In the recent past, the share of Indian women employed in some of the organized sectors such as industry, bureaucracy, etc. has witnessed a slight increase, although it is still below par. In contrast, the share of women employed in unorganized sectors such as agriculture, labour and other types of employment is higher than men.
As per the official information, the percentage of women employed in key sectors such as Army, Navy and Air Force is about 3.97%, 6% and 13.69%, respectively, as of 2022. Further, the share of women scientists in total scientists in India is only 16.6%, as of 2018, though it has marginally increased from 12% in the year 2000. Furthermore, as per the 07 December 2023 reply given in Rajya Sabha, the total number of women judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts is 3 and 111, respectively. This is about 10% and 14% of the total number of judges appointed in both the judicial bodies, respectively. Similarly, the percentage of women in the police force as of 2020 is about 10.3%. This has also increased from 3.9% in the year 2008. The government aims to increase the percentage of women in the police force to 33%. As of 2023, the percentage of women in legislative bodies such as parliament and state assemblies is about 14% and 9%, respectively. With the passing of the Women’s Reservation Act, it has now become mandatory in Parliament and Constituent Assemblies of India to have 33% of women representation.
The same trend is also evident in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are the backbone of the Indian economy. Factly’s stories on MSMEs can be accessed here, here, here & here
As per the official information, while the contribution of MSMEs to the GDP in the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 was 30.5%, 27.2% and 29.2%,  respectively, their share in the total exports of India in the years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 is 49.4%, 45.0% and 43.6%, respectively. However, the rate of women’s employment and percentage of MSMEs owned by women is only about 20% and 20.5%, respectively.
Therefore, the data shows that the representation of women in the organized sector is very low as of date, though it has witnessed an increase in the recent past.
As noted earlier, in contrast, the official data shows that the percentage of women employed in the unorganized sectors is very high, compared to the organized sector. As per the latest data on e-Shram Portal, which is a dedicated website for workers in unorganized sector, the percentage of women enrolled is about 53% on the current date. Further, the recent 20 December 2023 reply given in parliament revealed the percentage of women employed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) as being 53%, 54% and 57% during the years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. Similarly, as per NITI Aayog, 80% of rural women are engaged in agricultural work, while their total share in agriculture work is 63%.
To sum up, the official data shows a clear disparity in India between the share of women in unorganized and organized sectors and rural and urban areas. It also shows that compared to the overall global scenario, the gender disparity in India is on the higher side in terms of employment and economic participation.