Access to basic services:

The patterns of deprivation

households of similar income levels, the actual experience of
poverty varies dramatically based on where they live.

Access Deprivation Score to quantify the availability of

services in each region.

The Access Deprivation Score (ADS) measures

access to the basic services required for an
empowered life.
The ADS is based on access to six basic services (health care, education,
drinking water, sanitation, housing, and energy) that are part of the consumption
bundle that makes up the Empowerment Line.

(Empowerment Line measures households ability to afford a set

of basic services.The Empowerment Line indicates that 56 percent of the population is not able to afford a
minimum acceptable standard of living.)

calculating the ADS for each of Indias

640 districts, we can pinpoint areas of extreme need, compare districts, and
aggregate results at the state and national levels.

The average Indian household lacks access to

46 percent of basic services, but this varies widely
even within each state.
Bihar has the highest level
of deprivation with an ADS of 62 percent, while at the other extreme, Himachal
Pradesh has the lowest level of access deprivation (among states with at least ten
districts) with an ADS of 28 percent.

Indias 640 districts can be grouped into

five categories

MOST DEPRIVED DISTRICTS: HIGH DEFICITs IN

ALL SERVICES

Indias 126 Most Deprived Districts, which are heavily concentrated in Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar, have extremely weak access to all types of services and
are home to about 230 million of the 680 million Indians who are below the
Empowerment Line.

Their average monthly per capita expenditure,

Rs. 1,083, is the lowest among the five categories of districts.

MODERATELY DEPRIVED DISTRICTS: MODERATE DEFICITS IN

ALL SERVICES

Indias most prosperous and urbanised states (Haryana,

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh) fall into this
category.

Five insights from these patterns of deprivation point

to potential solutions
how to address gaps in access to the fundamental services
that are part of a minimum acceptable standard of living

Deprived and Least Deprived

1. Districts have significantly higher agricultural yields.
Productivity growth (both within the agricultural sector and in other sectors) can
raise incomes and expand access to basic services at the household level in the
poorest districts
2. Improving access to quality education and health care will require increased
and more effective public spending, along with active community participation.