Over the years there has been a shift in the development discourse. Progress in development is no more defined on the basis of overall income growth of the economy, but rather on the quantum reduction in the share of population deprived of ‘basic needs’. The present report makes an attempt...

This paper aims to identify the poor households in terms of the levels of poverty and inequality by using income data from the nation-wide ‘National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure (NSHIE-2004-05)’ of the NCAER. The definition used by the Tendulkar Committee (41.8 per cent poor in...

This book maps the earning, spending and saving profiles of Indians in the post-liberalisation era. It studies how socio-economic, religious, and individual characteristics lead to inequality in the incomes of households. Among other aspects of the problematique, it reveals that while a...

The outlook for digital payments in India is promising, which bodes well for broader financial inclusion through digital channels. Significant shifts have occurred in the policy & regulatory landscape as well as public infrastructure creation to enable a push from cash to digital. These changes...

The rapid rise in the country's middle and high income classes 1 is likely to lead to an even sharper rise in the demand for both consumer durable and consumables. Between 1995-96 and 2001-02, the demand for automobiles, for example, rose by 9.8 per cent annually and is projected to rise 1.5...

Despite a very large sample size, it has not been possible to extend the MISH-derived income distribution beyond Rs 1,80,000 a year to give robust estimates of consumption at higher income levels. The principal reason is the small cell sizes, which we do not believe should be extrapolated to...

Consumers choose cash because they are keenly aware of its benefits and limitations. ICE360° research shows that most consumers see three main benefits of cash. Cash confers power on the buyer, since she can offer fixed bids for a bundle of goods and services. More than 90% of respondents in...

In this paper, the author analyses the trends in poverty and inequality from 2004-05 to 2007-08 using NSSO data. Statewise figures for the rise in the monthly per capita consumption expenditure and the corresponding reduction in poverty in rural and urban areas have been estimated to examine the...