Human Development in India - NCAER

46 human development in indiaFigure 4.6Source: IHDS 2004–5 data.Salaries of Workers in Private and Public Sector and the Ratio by EducationGovernment or public sector employment also serves asa moderating influence on other forms of social inequalities.While women earn lower salaries in both the publicand private sector, the ratio of female to male salaries isconsiderably higher in the public sector (0.73) than in theprivate sector (0.53). Similarly, salary inequalities amongvarious social groups are larger in the private sector thanin the public sector. Regardless of the sector, forward castesand other minority religions have higher salaries thanOBCs, Dalits, Adivasis, and Muslims. As Chapter 6 oneducation points out, these groups have higher educationalattainment, so they should be expected to be in the upperrungs of the bureaucracy and have higher salaries. But it isalso interesting to note that the disadvantages of caste, tribe,and religion are moderated in public sector salaries, partlybecause of better government salaries for low skill workers.Even for higher skill levels, however, differences in governmentsalaries by social background are lower than those inthe private sector.Wage WorkWage workers are paid at a daily rate. Their income dependson both the amount of work they are able to find and theprevailing wage rate. The average all India agricultural wagerate recorded by the IHDS was Rs 50 per day for men andRs 33 for women (see Table A.4.5a). The average nonagriculturalwage rate was Rs 76 for men and Rs 43 forwomen.Beyond gender, there is little individual variation in theagricultural wage rates by education or social background.The main differences are geographic. Less developed villageshave lower agricultural wages than more developed ones.In wealthier states, such as Himachal Pradesh, Punjab,Haryana, and Kerala, agricultural labourers average Rs 75per day or more. In poorer states, such as Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa, the daily agricultural wagesare less than Rs 40 (see Table A.4.5b). Some of the socialdifferences we observe result from these geographic differences.Thus, Adivasis, who are located more often in the leastdeveloped villages in poor states, receive lower wages.In contrast, non-agricultural wages vary more widelyby age, level of education, and social background and somewhatless by location. Dalits and Adivasis are particularlydisadvantaged in non-agricultural wages. Increased returnsto education are not especially noticeable until secondaryschool for both men and women.