India's poorest households that own vehicle jump from 6% in FY12 to 40% in FY23: EAC-PM member

The number of poorest Indian households that own a vehicle has jumped significantly in the 11-year period stretching from fiscal year 2011-12 (FY12) to fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), according to Shamika Ravi, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

In FY12, 6% among the poorest 20% of India's population owned a vehicle. This increased to 40% by FY23, Ravi posted on X, as she also shared state-wise data along with her tweet.

The data showed vehicle ownership among the bottom 20% of the Indian households rising the most in Punjab. Among the state's poorest rural households, it increased from 15.5% to 62.5%. Among Punjab's poorest urban households, the number has risen from 14% to 65.7%.

Karnataka is closely behind, with vehicle ownership rising from 3.3% to 56.6% in rural areas in the 11-year period, whereas, the same increased from 11.1% to 61.3% among the state's urban poor households.

Vehicle, in this case, refers to cars, jeeps, motorcycles and scooters.

Rural Maharashtra has also logged a significant climb, with vehicle ownership among the poorest households rising from 4.1% in FY12 to 45.1% in FY23.

The country's eastern provinces are among those where vehicle ownership remained relatively lower. In Assam, it increased from less than 1% to 9.6%, and from 1% to 15.2% in urban areas.

In Bihar, it rose from 1.8% to 19.1% in rural areas, and from 6.1% to 16.8% in urban regions. In West Bengal, less than 1% of the poorest rural households owned vehicles in FY12, and the same increased to 11.3% in FY23. Among their urban counterparts, it rose from 1% to 15.2% in the same time period.