Human Development in India - NCAER

5Household Assets and AmenitiesThe preceding chapters have focused on the way in whichIndian households earn their livelihood and on their levelsof income and poverty. In this chapter, we turn to the dayto day lifestyles of these households by focusing on theirconsumption patterns through access to amenities such asclean water, sanitation, electricity, and a variety of otherhousehold goods. The provision of basic services such aspiped water, sanitation systems, and electricity has been animportant goal of Indian developmental planning. Hence,a description of these services from a household perspectiveprovides an overview of the success of public policies as wellas the challenges facing these policies.Household assets and amenities reflect a household’squality of life. Electric lights enable more reading andeducation; new fuels and improved stoves provide a cleanerenvironment and better health; clean water and sanitationreduce the prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases; motorvehicles and mass media strengthen the household’sconnection to the country as a whole; access to piped waterand use of kerosene or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) forcooking reduces the time women spend in water andfuel collection, thereby reducing domestic drudgery andincreasing time devoted to other activities. While theseamenities improve the quality of life, they also demonstrateto family and neighbours that the household hassucceeded financially. In modern life, household possessionsare both the signs of social status and instruments for abetter life.Assets and amenities cost money, so their acquisitionis determined primarily by household income. Householdpossessions reflect accumulation over many years, so theymay be a better indicator of a household’s long term economicstanding than annual measures, such as income.Many surveys on non-economic issues actually rely onhousehold possessions as their primary economic indicator.Fortunately, the IHDS measured income, consumption, andhousehold possessions, so it is possible to compare householdassets and amenities with other measures such as incomeand expenditure.A household’s assets and amenities are also determinedby its economic context and the development of localinfrastructure, such as roads, electricity, and water. Forexample, a television is not of much use if the village hasno electricity. Motorcycles, scooters, or cars are not veryuseful without a network of roads and easy access to a petrolpump. Gas cylinders are difficult to replace if the householdis many kilometres from the nearest supplier. And becausethese possessions are also a sign of the family’s economicsuccess, owning a television, scooter, or gas stove becomesmore important when one’s neighbour has one. Thus, a richhousehold in a rich state will have many more amenities thanan equally rich household in a poor state.This chapter addresses three major themes. First, itprovides a description of households’ standard of living asmeasured by basic assets and amenities such as access to water,sanitation, fuel, and electricity, and the possession of a varietyof consumer goods. Second, it documents inequalities in thepossession of these assets and amenities, with a particularfocus on regional inequalities. Third, it highlights the publicpolicy challenges of providing high quality services bydocumenting the reliability (and lack thereof) of electricityand water supply.