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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 22% of households in cities, 31% in villages are in debt -Subodh Varma

22% of households in cities, 31% in villages are in debt -Subodh Varma

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published Published on Dec 22, 2014   modified Modified on Dec 22, 2014
-The Times of india

Nearly a third of rural households and a quarter of urban ones are indebted according to a survey report released this week. This is understandable with the spread of credit facilities. But the scale of indebtedness revealed is astonishing: between 2002 and 2012, the average amount owed by each family has jumped seven times in cities and more than four times in rural areas.

About 22% of urban households were indebted and the average debt per family was Rs 84,625, up from Rs 11,771 in 2002. In the rural areas, 31% of households were indebted compared to 27% in 2002. Their average debt had increased from Rs 7,539 in 2002 to Rs 32,522 in 2012.

The survey, carried out by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), studied assets and debt across India through two visits to more than one lakh households in 2013. Such surveys are done by the NSSO every 10 years.

Average debt is computed by dividing the total debt by total population, which includes households that have no debt. A better picture of the scale of indebtedness is seen if the total debt is distributed only over the indebted households: then the average debt increases to Rs1,03,457 in rural areas and Rs 3,78,238 in urban areas.

The survey also estimated that average value of assets among rural households was about Rs 10 lakh while in urban areas it was nearly Rs 23 lakh.

The definition of assets used this time round was changed from that of previous surveys. Consumer durables, bullion and jewellery were not counted as assets. Also, prices of land and building were taken from normative/guideline values rather than as reported by informant. Hence, asset values reported in this survey are not comparable to previous surveys.

What is striking in asset ownership is the extreme inequality between the rich and the poor. While the average value of assets owned by the richest 10% of the urban population was Rs 14.6 crore the poorest 10% owned assets worth just Rs 291 - virtually nothing.

In rural areas too, similar inequality is visible although not quite of the same scale. The average asset value of the richest segment was Rs 5.7 crore compared to Rs 2,507 for the poorest segment.

Expectedly, wide variation is seen in asset ownership depending upon vocation. In rural areas, cultivators owned assets valued on an average at Rs 29 lakh while non-cultivators had assets worth less than one fourth of that, pegged at about Rs 7 lakh. Similarly, in urban areas, self-employed families like businessmen had assets worth as much as Rs 51 lakh compared to about Rs 20 lakh worth of assets owned by wage or salary earners.

The enormous contribution of real estate prices to the explosion in asset values is clearly seen in the fact that in rural areas, 73% of the value of assets was derived from land and 21% from buildings. In urban areas, while 47% of asset value was from land, 45% was from buildings.

In urban areas, 82% of debt is incurred to finance housing, education, marriages etc and only 18% is for business purposes, showing that the urban housing boom has been driven by debt. In rural areas, the picture is different, with 40% of loans taken for business.

Interestingly, shares and debentures made up an insignificant part of assets in both rural and urban areas for most of the population. Just 0.07% of asset value of rural households and 0.17% among urban households was derived from shares etc.


The Times of India, 22 December, 2014, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/22-of-households-in-cities-31-in-villages-are-in-debt/articleshow/45597822.cms


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