Report titled "Land inequality in India: Nature, history, and markets," encompasses data from ten major Indian states (~ 75% of rural population).
Key Findings of the Report
- Extreme Wealth Concentration:Top 10% of rural households own 44% of the total land area.
- Widespread Landlessness:Nearly 46% of rural Indian households are entirely landless.
- Village-levelland Gini Coefficients: extremely high at 71.1.
- Dominant Landlords: In an average village, the single largest landholder controls roughly 12.4% of the land.
- Regional Disparities:
- Highest Inequality: Kerala (Land Gini coefficient at 90).
- Lowest Inequality: Karnataka and Rajasthan (Land Gini coefficients below 65).
- Rates of Landlessness: Punjab highest at 73%.
Key Drivers of Land Inequality in India
- Nature:High productivity facilitates the expansion of large landholdings and drives up landlessness.
- History:
- Colonial Tenure: Regions formerly under the Britishzamindari (landlord) system exhibit higher inequality, vis-à-vis "princely states".
- Social Stratification: Villages with a higher proportion of Scheduled Caste (SC) populations face higher inequality, due to historical landlessness.
- Markets (Economic Integration): Proximity to economic hubs, such as towns, major highways, railways, banks, and agricultural markets (mandis) is associated with higher land inequality.
- Economic integration alters the profitability of farming relative to non-agricultural activities, incentivizing smallholders to sell their non-viable plots to larger landowners.
Steps taken to reduce land inequality in India
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