Rural Indian Households Research Articles

Sociodemographic and institutional factors as determinants of access to food among rural households during COVID-19 pandemic in India

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the nature, magnitude and determinants of access to food among rural households in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the World Bank’s Rural Impact Survey, which has documented the shocks of COVID-19 among 2,787 rural households across six states in India. The chi-square test and binary logistics regression have been used to analyze the data.FindingsAbout 49.7 % of rural households have reported the incidence of food inaccessibility and shortage, and the majority of them reported a reduction in food intake during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the magnitude of food accessibility varied across the states and the sociodemographic characteristics of the households. Furthermore, regression analysis indicates that family size, social category and occupation as sociodemographic variables and membership in self-help groups, wage employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and Cash transfer under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana as institutional support factors have a significant effect on access to food among rural households.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study have far-reaching policy implications for developing an effective food distribution system in crisis situations like the COVID-19 outbreak. The study also provides directions for extending the research on determinants of access to food during crisis.Originality/valueThe study is based on a large survey data from the rural households in India and provides empirical evidence on access to food faced by rural communities during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Chemical characterization and source identification of indoor PM2.5 in urban and rural households in India

Chemical characterization and source identification of indoor PM2.5 in urban and rural households in India

Transitioning towards sustainable agriculture: analysing the factors and impact of adopting multiple sustainable inputs by paddy farmers in India

IntroductionThere is a global priority to ensure food security, environmental conservation and sustainability. The adoption of inputs such as organic manures, biofertilisers, and biopesticides has been widely promoted as a way to enhance agricultural sustainability, yet their adoption rates remain notably low. The study examines the determinants and impact of the adoption of multiple sustainable inputs by paddy farmers in India. The study also examines the drivers behind the intensity of their adoption and their technical efficiency.MethodsThe study utilises the survey dataset on paddy farmers from “Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India” of the 77th National Sample Survey (NSSO) round. The reference period for data collection was the agricultural year from July 2018 to June 2019. The analytical methods employed include the Multivariate Probit and Ordered Probit models, Seemingly Unrelated Regression, Regression Adjustment model, and Stochastic Frontier method.ResultsThe empirical findings reveal that the adoption and intensity of sustainable inputs depend significantly on factors such as the household head’s age and education, household size, and access to extension services. Adopting sustainable inputs has significant benefits, such as increased harvest value. However, the currently available technical advisory services are limited in effectively promoting the expenditure on sustainable inputs. Technical efficiency analysis underscores the potential for improvement and the importance of utilising optimal input levels. The research findings provide strong evidence in favour of advocating for the use of sustainable inputs in paddy farming.

Transition to cooking with clean fuels in rural households of India: Studying the effect of policy and other factors

The seventh UN Sustainable Development Goal is access to clean and affordable energy and cooking with clean fuels is essential to reduce the disease burden associated with indoor air pollution from solid fuel use. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in 2016 to target poor households belonging to disadvantaged caste and class categories and provided free LPG connections to these households to make clean energy accessible. This paper used binomial logistic regression modelling with rural household data from two rounds of the NFHS conducted in 2015–16 and 2019-21, to find whether a targeted intervention like the PMUY is enough to increase the use of clean fuels over solid fuels among rural households in India. The change in the effect of socio-economic and demographic factors affecting the choice of clean fuels for cooking are also studied to find their relative contribution along with the effect of policy. This analysis finds that targeted interventions have significant impact in bringing a positive change in use of clean fuels for cooking in rural households in India but there are other social and economic factors which also play an important role in sustaining the transition to clean cooking.

Rural household vulnerability and COVID-19: Evidence from India.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected vulnerable households' livelihoods in developing countries. Using high-frequency phone survey data from the World Bank, we assess rural Indian households' vulnerability and poverty status during the pandemic. Results reveal that over three-fifths of Indian rural households are vulnerable to poverty in the context of COVID-19, despite India's evident progress in mitigating poverty in the pre-pandemic era. Poverty plays a major role in accounting for variations in household vulnerability; however, the impact of risks on household welfare is not negligible. On average, households with more members, older household heads, and more outmigrants are more vulnerable to poverty during the pandemic. The impacts of the gender of the household head, access to masks, consumption loans, and COVID-related information are nevertheless insignificant. Results stress the urgent necessity of deploying concerted interventions to strengthen household vulnerability in rural India.

Community-Driven Solutions for Sustainable Water Access: An Analysis of Jal Jeevan Mission in Rural India

The Jal Jeevan Mission, launched in 2019 under the National Rural Drinking Water Program, seeks to ensure tap water access to all rural households in India by 2024. Considering the crucial role of water in sustaining life and with a rapidly growing population, the program emphasizes sustainable water management through measures such as rainwater harvesting and conservation. By integrating modern technology and community participation, the initiative addresses challenges in maintaining a reliable water supply. Lessons from India's experience demonstrate the importance of cost-effective and sustainable water management, emphasizing community engag

Stage-based Non-price Determinants of Fuel Choice and Its Consumption Decision of Households in Rural India

This article investigates non-price determinants of fuel choice and consumption decision of households in rural India. Fuel consumption varies at household levels from traditional fuels like firewood and chips to modern fuels such as LPG. Fuel consumption is based on two-stage decisions: (a) whether households participate or not; and (b) how much they consume if they participate. Significant factors might be different in the first stage and the second stage due to certain socio-economic or non-price factors. Applying Cragg’s double hurdle model on NSSO data, this article finds determinants of fuel choice and its consumption at the household level in rural India. Empirical findings indicate that income significantly determines quantity consumption, not choice decision. The role of assets in determining fuel choice and quantity decision is also considered through a comparative study including and excluding landholding, a major asset in rural India. Bottom and top quintile results suggest that advancement of the economic position of the households changes their attitude towards dirty fuel selection and consumption. Firewood fuel consumption decreases with the rising education level of the household head, especially women-headed households. Increased awareness through education and removing social barriers might help to reduce dirty fuel consumption, and India might move towards Sustainable Development Goal. JEL Codes: C20, C13, C34, O13, Q23, Q40, Q56

Fostering financial inclusion for attaining sustainable goals: What contributes more to the inclusive financial behaviour of rural households in India?

This study focuses on the effects of financial advisers, product attributes, and financial literacy on rural families’ financial inclusion in particular Indian areas. Survey data, collected from 423 respondents from the marginalized communities, is structurally еquation-modеlеd to test the hypotheses. The findings reveal that financial literacy and awareness exhibited a large direct effect on financial inclusion and the financial advisors play a significant role in achieving sustainable goals by moderating the economic behaviour of the rural households. It is recommended that finance advisors be engaged, overseen and made an integral part of financial systems to provide high-quality ethical service, bridge the trust gap between households and financial institutions, and promote the inclusive behaviour of rural household. The financial products, government schemes be customized to the best of specific nееds and demographics of rural areas and financial advisors must be engaged for community financial literacy campaigns so that the products reach the section at the bottom of economic pyramid. Overall, this study offers insightful facts that can support financial inclusion laws and help rural India achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mnrega) on Poverty Alleviation Programme in Tiruvarur District of Tamilnadu, India

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is a pivotal initiative aimed at bolstering the financial stability of rural households in India by ensuring a minimum of 100 days of guaranteed wage employment annually. This study, conducted in the Nannilam Block of Tiruvarur District, focuses on 110 rural poor beneficiaries to assess the impact of MNREGA. Findings reveal that a majority of beneficiaries experienced an increase in their annual income, leading to upward mobility in income brackets. Individual characteristics such as education, social engagement, land ownership, credit accessibility, information sources, interaction with MNREGA staff, scheme attitude, and beneficiary knowledge were identified as influential factors in the beneficiaries' improved annual income. Notably, over one-third of recipients advocate for collaborative efforts between local NGOs and community leaders to enhance awareness and promote the benefits of MNREGA within households. This underscores the need for comprehensive community engagement and support structures to maximize the effectiveness of MNREGA in uplifting rural economies.

Access to Sources of Drinking Water Among Households in Rural India

Access to Sources of Drinking Water Among Households in Rural India

Feminization of hunger in climate change: linking rural women’s health and wellbeing in India

ABSTRACT The links between climate change, food security and women’s wellbeing remain an under-investigated area. This paper contributes to this area through a thorough examination of how women experience food insecurity in farming households in rural India. The households are located in four agro-climatic regions in India. These regions experience varied climatic pressures, and this diversity allows us to explore a wider variety of women’s experiences in their attempts to maintain household food security as the climate changes. The study finds that women, even in comparatively more food-secure households, suffer from food insecurity. One of the reasons for this is that women’s food habits and mealtimes have altered in recent years due to the increase in their work pressures. The worst effects are to be found in drought-prone areas, and there are greater vulnerabilities among women-headed households, indicating that the impacts of climate change are exacerbated by cultural norms that further hinder the role of women in farm activities.

Measuring energy access for livelihoods, lifestyles, and welfare: Validating the Hierarchical Energy Access Framework in India

Household energy poverty is a multi-dimensional issue that extends to any service a household would like to obtain that requires energy, not just those at the household level. It is crucial to incorporate this understanding in how household energy access is measured to adequately inform any measure taken to address this issue. In recent years, a few methodologies, like the Multi-tier Framework, have been designed to reflect this thinking. However, their widespread adoption has been lacklustre primarily due to their use of complicated and yet-unmeasured parameters. Therefore, a readily deployable measurement framework in this vein remains absent from literature. This paper addresses this gap by showcasing a new household energy access measurement methodology, named the Hierarchical Energy Access Framework (HEAF) which assesses service gained by households across four hierarchical states of energy access and across four avenues of energy use, viz., household level services, productive endeavours, transportation, and community facilities. It achieves this using simple but comprehensive indicators specifically designed to be operationalizable using publicly available government-generated data. To illustrate its utility, energy access in rural Indian households in 2011 has been estimated. The results indicate that they were transitioning to modern energy sources in a highly unequal fashion both within and across the avenues of energy use considered, and 25.69 % of them were facing abject energy poverty. Overall, data availability for deploying the HEAF in India was found to be largely adequate, except for street lighting. A discussion has also been made on the global applicability of the HEAF.

ECONOMIC COST OF MITIGATING HOUSEHOLD AIR POLLUTION — A STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN RURAL WEST BENGAL, INDIA

By exploiting unique contingent valuation data from rural Indian households, we estimate the individuals’ willingness to pay to reduce risk from household air pollution, using the double-bounded dichotomous choice model. The estimated mean annual willingness to pay for such risk reduction is obtained as INR 886.59 accounting for approximately 1% of the annual household income. Although conducted in a different time and sample, the ratio of our estimated WTP to average household expenditure lies in a comparable range with extant literature. Furthermore, the estimated WTP lies in a moderately comparable range to the market price of devices that reduces HAP exposure. The sensitivity analysis of the estimated willingness to pay with respect to relevant behavioral and health factors further provides scope for policy prescriptions.

Do skills enable the reduction of emissions from household energy use? Findings from a survey of households in rural India

ABSTRACT We use new survey data from 1,203 households in rural Eastern India to estimate cross-sectional models of overall energy use and embedded emissions. Findings indicate that the primary driver of household energy use is household size and affluence. This is unsurprising and consistent with findings from the engineering literature on energy demand. However, there is also a substantial and significant moderating influence of skills on energy use. For emissions, we observe a bifurcated relationship in line with educational attainment. For those that have completed secondary education or more, skills are negatively associated with energy use and emissions, whereas for those with lesser qualifications more skills are associated with more energy use and emissions. The results are consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve, which implies that a critical level of affluence is required before environmental impacts start lessening. The results also echo a sociological critique of human capital theory − that individual abilities are not productive in and of themselves, but rather in relation to socially determined opportunity structures. Our findings show that this could also hold for greenhouse gas emissions.

Influence of parental anthropometry and gestational weight gain on intrauterine growth and neonatal outcomes: Findings from the MAI cohort study in rural India.

Poor foetal growth and subsequent low birth weight are associated with an increased risk for disease later in life. Identifying parental factors that determine foetal growth are important to curbing intergenerational malnutrition, especially among disadvantaged populations in the global south where undernutrition rates are high. The objective of this study was to assess the relationships between parental biometry, intrauterine growth and neonatal outcomes, while factoring in socioeconomic status of historically disadvantaged households in rural India. Using data from the prospective longitudinal cohort, pregnant women from rural Pune, India (n = 134) were assessed between August 2020 and November 2022. Data on socio-demography, ultrasound measurements, parental and foetal anthropometry were collected. Multiple linear regression models were run to predict determinants of foetal intrauterine and neonatal growth (p value<0.05). The dependent variables were ultrasound measurements and neonatal biometry, and independent variables were gestational weight gain, parental and mid-parental height. Mean(±SD) maternal age, maternal height, paternal height and mid-parental height were 22.8±3.7 years, 153.6±5.5cm, 165.9±6.5cm and 159.1±8.7cm, respectively. Pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain was 20.5±4.0 kg/m2 and 9.8±3.7kg respectively. Mid-parental height and gestational weight gain were strongly correlated with neonatal growth and foetal intrauterine growth (p<0.05); however, the correlation peaked at 28 weeks of gestation (p<0.05). Gestational weight gain (B = 28.7, p = 0.001) and mid-parental height (B = 14.3, p = 0.001) were identified as strong determinants of foetal-intrauterine growth and neonatal anthropometry at birth. Maternal height was found to influence length of male neonate (B = 0.18, p = 0.001), whereas, paternal height influenced length of the female neonate (B = 0.11, p = 0.01). Parental socio-economic status, biometry and maternal gestational weight gain influence growth of the child starting from the intrauterine period. Our study underlines the need for interventions during pre-pregnancy, as well as during pregnancy, for optimal weight gain and improved foetal and neonatal outcomes.

Gender stereotytpes in rural Indian households

Gender stereotytpes in rural Indian households

Characterization of segregated greywater from rural Indian Households: An instrumental case study

Over the past few decades, greywater has gained attention on a global scale as a practical alternative water supply. Greywater reuse and recycling is a financially sound and appealing solution for fulfilling future water demand. The reuse and treatment of grey water are based on the parameters such as BOD, pH, EC, turbidity, suspended solids, and other factors. The current investigative study is primarily concerned with describing segregated grey wastewater (bathroom, laundry, and kitchen) from diverse rural families and based on the socio-economic classes of staff members who live in the rural area of Karunya Nagar. The indicators examined showed considerable differences across different economic classes, according to statistical analysis. The results of the current study demonstrated that household habits, activities, and wastewater sources all have a significant impact on the characteristics of greywater. This research will be useful in developing a sustainable, cost-effective treatment system that will allow homeowners to safely recycle and reuse greywater produced by various sources. Emerging contaminants pose a great threat to human health. In light of this, the current study concentrates on qualitative and quantitative evaluations of emerging pollutants from several rural Indian household classes using gas chromatography mass spectroscopy(GC–MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).

Deepened socioeconomic inequality in clean cooking fuel use in India from 2005-2006 to 2015–2016

Uptake of clean cooking fuels (CCF), such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), in place of traditional cooking fuels such as wood, charcoal, and kerosene can improve public health by reducing household air pollution exposures. Though studies have cross-sectionally examined socioeconomic determinants of cooking fuel adoption, little is known about socioeconomic disparities in CCF use over time. Data from the third (2005–06) and fourth (2015–16) rounds of the National Family Health Survey covering 109,041 and 601,509 households, respectively, were used to examine inequities in CCF use in India. While CCF use in India increased nationally from 25% in 2005–06 to 44% in 2015–16, the adoption of CCF varied widely across states and socio-economic groups. Approximately 2% of households in the poorest wealth quintile gained access to LPG during the study period, compared with an increase of 10% or more among households in the middle or richer wealth quintiles; the LPG access gap between the low (0.2%) and middle class (19.2%) was 19% in 2005–06 and nearly doubled to 35% (2.5% vs. 37.4%, respectively) in 2015–16. At the state level, there was a four-fold difference in the uptake of CCF over the two survey periods. The use of CCF increased by less than 10% in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Meghalaya as compared to the increases of at least 30% in Tamil Nadu (42%), undivided Andhra Pradesh (34%), and Kerala (30%). Further, in wealthier states (Delhi, Goa, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and undivided Andhra Pradesh), CCF use increased by more than 20% among the poorest individuals compared with less than 1% among the poorest families in lower income states (Tripura, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar). To promote a more equitable clean energy transition, poorer and rural Indian households should be prioritized for CCF promotion programs.

Black carbon emissions in the rural Indian households: Sources, exposure, and associated threats

In this study, we present the indoor Black Carbon (BC) measurements with the help of Aethalometer (AE‐33) from various sites in Eastern India in a typical kitchen room situated in a rural area. Analysis was done on how various cooking activities performed in the home affected the indoor level of BC. The activities resulting in elevated indoor concentrations included three different periods of cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner with three different kinds of kitchen structures open, semi‐open and closed kitchen. Close kitchen resulted in the highest BC concentrations, while open kitchen resulted in the lowest level. The burning of low‐grade fuels resulted in the largest increases in indoor BC concentration. We calculated the average BC concentrations for three distinct kitchens, with open kitchens emitting 260.14 μgm−3, semi‐open kitchens emitting 441.14 μgm−3, and closed kitchens emitting 477.25 μgm−3. The biomass burning % was high during the entire research. Because BC mass concentration was found to be high in indoor sampling, as a result, the health risk assessment is also considered to be high in all types of kitchens. As people spend a significant amount of time at home, especially in a future where remote work is anticipated to be easier, finding the activities, sources, and health effects that increase indoor pollution is vital to lowering indoor exposure.

A randomized trial of price subsidies for liquefied petroleum cooking gas among low-income households in rural India

The use of solid fuels for cooking is a major contributor to mortality, disease burden, and environmental harm in many countries. To tackle the problem, India expanded access to a cleaner and often subsidized alternative, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), but solid fuels reliance has persisted. Aiming to inform LPG subsidy policy, we conducted a field experiment with low-income households in rural India to examine how LPG prices affect demand. Households (n = 580) were randomized to four groups: a control group that received no discount beyond the existing subsidy and three treatment groups that received discount vouchers worth US$1.7, US$3.4, and US$5.1 per cylinder refill. Purchases of LPG cylinders increased significantly with the size of the discounts. The findings indicate that higher LPG subsidy amounts will be necessary to achieve near exclusive use of this cleaner cooking fuel among low-income Indian households, in support of health and environmental goals.