This Article is From Mar 13, 2012

Half of India defecates in the open but owns a mobile phone: Household Amenities Census

Half of India defecates in the open but owns a mobile phone: Household Amenities Census

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New Delhi: Nearly half of India defecates in the open but at the same time more than 63 per cent have access to either a landline or a mobile phone.

And, even more interestingly nearly half (47.2 per cent) of India also have a television set at home.

Television also emerged as the key mode communication for India registering a 16 per cent growth over the last similar Census of 2001.

These, rather startling figures, were revealed today at Household Amenities Census 2011. In contrast, however, 58 per cent households have bathing facility within the premises

Expressing concern over the number of people without access to sanitation, Census Commissioner Dr C Chandramouli said that "this stark lack of access to sanitation could also be because of cultural reasons. A lot of work needs to be done on this (sanitation) front."  The lack of sanitation in India is also single most worrying factor according to Dr Chandramouli.

The Household Amenities Census 2011 also busted another belief; that of internet connectivity and penetration and number of computers in India. Only 3 per cent of both rural and urban India have computers with Internet facility. And, about 6 per cent have computers but no Internet facility.

And, the bad news doesn't end here. Only 67 per cent of India use electricity whereas still 43.2 per cent still depend on kerosene. Far worse, despite all the efforts to promote non- conventional energy, solar energy provides power to only 0.4 per cent of Indian households.

But all is not gloom and doom, key indicators. Over 80 per cent of Indians spread over rural and urban India live in their own homes. And the use of semi- permanent material like grass, bamboo has dropped significantly.

Nearly half (47 per cent)  of Indian households have access to drinking water within the premises in contrast to about only 39 per cent in 2001. But at same time, number of  households who have to fetch water from a distance from their home hasn't shown much of a drop.

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