Inter-regional inequality linked with financial inclusion in India

Abstract

The average, common person in India has a substantial disadvantage in wealth relative to people from other groups as analysid from years. Among the different groups, the FC Hindus are the clear leaders in median wealth in both the rural and urban areas. For the second survey year (2002–03), the OBCs and non-Hindus occupied positions that placed them noticeably above the SC/ST groups, but significantly below the FC in terms of median wealth values. In a worrisome trend, the relative median wealth of the rural and urban ST is, in fact, lower in 2002 than in 1991. A similar picture of SC/ST disadvantage and forward caste advantage is evident throughout the distributions in terms of gaps in percentile cutoffs. Estimates of the matrix of ranks for caste groups also confirm the existence of sizeable wealth gaps between the forward castes and everyone else.