Upwardly mobile: More Indian homes have phones, laptops and other gadgets...BUT some of them don't even have a toilet

                                              

Though half of all Indians do not have a toilet at home, well over half own a telephone, new census data released on Tuesday show.

These and many other contrasting facts of life have come out in Census 2011. The data on housing, household amenities and assets cast new light on a country in the throes of a complex transition, where millions have access to state-of-the-art technologies and consumer goods — but a larger number lacks access to the most rudimentary facilities.

It shows Indian society is overwhelmingly made up of nuclear families. They have ever more access to electricity and gather their information from television, rather than radio. At the same time, women are forced to rely on traditional smoky fuels to cook, and less than a third of the population have access to treated drinking water.

The stark gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' in India got an official confirmation on Tuesday when the Census 2011 data, released by the Union home secretary, revealed that a large number of Indian homes have a phone but not a toilet. But there's reason to cheer for Delhiites.
The national Capital, along with Chandigarh, ranks on top as far as access to facilities such as laptops, computers, mobile phones and cars is concerned.
Census 2011 was the first time that citizens were asked during the house-to-house surveys if they possessed a laptop, computer or a mobile phone.

But in Delhi, 29 per cent of the 33.4 lakh households have a laptop or computer while 17 per cent have an Internet connection. Chandigarh fared even better than the national Capital and was on the top in the entire country.
Every third family in the city, or 33.2 per cent households, has a computer and 18.8 per cent has an Internet connection. Surprisingly, IT hubs such as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh reported poor Internet distribution, with only 12.8 per cent and 8.4 per cent homes respectively having computer at home. Mere 2.6 per cent households in Andhra Pradesh reported to be having an Internet connection.
The new Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, better deliver on his poll promise to give free laptops. His state has only 8 per cent households with computers and a shockingly low 0.9% having Internet connection.
'We have to do a lot more for the penetration of computers and Internet,' Dr C. Chandramouli, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, said while releasing the figures. The Census data also shows that as many as 86 per cent of Indian households live in their own homes while the rest live in rented accommodations. In Delhi, however, nearly 28 per cent families live in rented houses while the percentage is even higher, 47, in Chandigarh. As many as 93.7 per cent households in Chandigarh and 75 per cent in Delhi drink treated water - which was also a new question posed during the Census exercise this time.
The data shows that nearly 32 per cent families in Delhi live in one-bedroom houses. In 70 per cent of households in the Capital, only one married couple lives, pointing to the increasing trend of nuclear families.