‘More than a third of families in Bihar living on Rs 6k/month’

Bihar is home to 2.97 crore families, as per the report. Representation pic

More than a third of families inhabiting Bihar were living in poverty, making do with a monthly income of Rs 6,000 or less, according to a detailed report of the caste survey tabled in the state assembly on Tuesday. The report also acknowledged considerable poverty among the upper castes, though the percentage was, predictably, much higher among backward classes, Dalits and tribals. As per the report, tabled by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, the state was home to about 2.97 crore families, out of which more than 94 lakhs (34.13 per cent) were poor.

Another important finding was that more than 50 lakh Biharis were living outside the state in search of livelihood or better education opportunities. Those earning a living in other states numbered around 46 lakh while another 2.17 lakh have found greener pastures abroad. Those pursuing studies in other states numbered about 5.52 lakh while about 27,000 were doing the same abroad.

Notably, preliminary findings of the caste survey were released on October 2. The Nitish Kumar government ordered the exercise following the Centre's reluctance to hold a caste census. The preliminary findings had established that OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constituted more than 60 per cent of the state's total population, while the upper castes accounted for about 10 per cent. The details tabled in the assembly showed that the rate of poverty among the upper castes, at more than 25 per cent, was quite pronounced.

10
Percentage of upper castes in Bihar

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever