Multidimensional deprivations among social groups in rural India: A state level analysis

Based on the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS) data of 2020-2021, the present study has been carried out to investigate spatial heterogeneity in the pattern of multidimensional deprivation across social groups among major states in rural India. Employing the principal component analysis approach, the social group wise Multidimensional Deprivation Index (MDI) have been constructed considering eighteen relevant indicators related to housing, basic amenities, social and economic deprivations. According to the study, multidimensional deprivation is much higher among rural households in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) categories than among other social groups. The study unveils that, SC households, mainly in the central and north-eastern parts of the nation, experience severe multidimensional deprivation. Of the states, Nagaland has the highest index score of 0.719 while Karnataka has the lowest index score - 0.962. Similarly, ST households in central and eastern Indian states experience acute deprivation, with Odisha experiencing the highest levels (0.663 MDI value) compared to - 0.723 in Sikkim. Meanwhile, Meghalaya (0.874) and Punjab (- 0.657) are the two most and least deprived states within the OBC social group. At the same time, though general categories households are comparatively well ahead than the other groups, a significant percentage of households within this category in two states, namely Mizoram and Jharkhand, suffer intense multidimensional deprivation requiring special attention. Considering all the social groups, the results explain that the central and the eastern regions are comparatively more deprived than the rest of the regions of the country due to poor performance of these states in most of the indicators of MDI. The analysis discloses that the states (like-Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc.) having a higher proportion of General and SC populations are comparatively less deprived. In contrary, except north-eastern states where the concentration of ST population is comparatively higher (like-Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha) their deprivation is more. Hence, there is a need for an in-depth assessment of deprivation across the social groups to uncover their deprived conditions, and target-based new policies should be implemented for the deprived social groups in the deprived states of India.