Abstract

The millions of farmers of India have made significant contributions in providing food and nutrition to the entire nation and provided livelihood to millions of people of the country. During the five decades of planned economic development, India has moved from food-shortage and imports to self-sufficiency and exports. Food security and well being of the farmer appears to be major areas of concern of the planners of Indian agriculture. In order to have a snapshot picture of the farming community at the commencement of the third millennium and to analyze the impact of the transformation induced by public policy, investments and technological change on the farmers' access to resources and income as well as well-being of the farmer households at the end of five decades of planned economic development, Ministry of Agriculture have decided to collect information on Indian farmers through “Situation Assessment Survey” (SAS) on Indian farmers and entrusted the job of conducting the survey to National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

The Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers is the first of its kind to be conducted by NSSO. Though information on a majority of items to be collected through SAS have been collected in some round or other of NSS, an integrated schedule, viz., Schedule 33, covering some basic characteristics of farmer households and their access to basic and modern farming resources will be canvassed for the first time in SAS. Moreover, information on consumption of various goods and services in an abridged form are also to be collected to have an idea about the pattern of consumption expenditure of the farmer households.

Schedule 33 is designed for collection of information on aspects relating to farming and other socio-economic characteristics of farmer households. The information will be collected in two visits to the same set of sample households. The first visit will be made during January to August 2003 and the second, during September to December 2003. The survey will be conducted in rural areas only. It will be canvassed in the Central Sample except for the States of Maharashtra and Meghalaya where it will be canvassed in both State and Central samples.

Geographic coverage

The survey covered rural sector of Indian Union except (i) Leh (Ladakh) and Kargil districts of Jammu & Kashmir, (ii) interior villages of Nagaland situated beyond five kilometres of the bus route and (iii) villages in Andaman and Nicobar Islands which remain inaccessible throughout the year.

Analysis unit

Household (farmer)

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Sample Design

Outline of sample design: A stratified multi-stage design has been adopted for the 59th round survey. The first stage unit (FSU) is the census village in the rural sector and UFS block in the urban sector. The ultimate stage units (USUs) will be households in both the sectors. Hamlet-group / sub-block will constitute the intermediate stage if these are formed in the selected area.

Sampling Frame for First Stage Units: For rural areas, the list of villages (panchayat wards for Kerala) as per Population Census 1991 and for urban areas the latest UFS frame, will be used as sampling frame. For stratification of towns by size class, provisional population of towns as per Census 2001 will be used.

Stratification

Rural sector: Two special strata will be formed at the State/ UT level, viz.

• Stratum 1: all FSUs with population between 0 to 50 and
• Stratum 2: FSUs with population more than 15,000.

Special stratum 1 will be formed if at least 50 such FSU's are found in a State/UT. Similarly, special stratum 2 will be formed if at least 4 such FSUs are found in a State/UT. Otherwise, such FSUs will be merged with the general strata.

From FSUs other than those covered under special strata 1 & 2, general strata will be formed and its numbering will start from 3. Each district of a State/UT will be normally treated as a separate stratum. However, if the census rural population of the district is greater than or equal to 2 million as per population census 1991 or 2.5 million as per population census 2001, the district will be split into two or more strata, by grouping contiguous tehsils to form strata. However, in Gujarat, some districts are not wholly included in an NSS region. In such cases, the part of the district falling in an NSS region will constitute a separate stratum.

Urban sector: In the urban sector, strata will be formed within each NSS region on the basis of size class of towns as per Population Census 2001. The stratum numbers and their composition (within each region) are given below. - stratum 1: all towns with population less than 50,000 - stratum 2: all towns with population 50,000 or more but less than 2 lakhs - stratum 3: all towns with population 2 lakhs or more but less than 10 lakhs - stratum 4, 5, 6, ...: each city with population 10 lakhs or more The stratum numbers will remain as above even if, in some regions, some of the strata are not formed.

Total sample size (FSUs): 10736 FSUs have been allocated at all-India level on the basis of investigator strength in different States/UTs for central sample and 11624 for state sample.

Allocation of total sample to States and UTs: The total number of sample FSUs is allocated to the States and UTs in proportion to provisional population as per Census 2001 subject to the availability of investigators ensuring more or less uniform work-load.

Allocation of State/UT level sample to rural and urban sectors: State/UT level sample is allocated between two sectors in proportion to provisional population as per Census 2001 with 1.5 weightage to urban sector subject to the restriction that urban sample size for bigger states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu etc. should not exceed the rural sample size. Earlier practice of giving double weightage to urban sector has been modified considering the fact that two main topics (sch. 18.1 and sch 33) are rural based and there has been considerable growth in urban population. More samples have been allocated to rural sector of Meghalaya state sample at the request of the DES, Meghalaya. The sample sizes by sector and State/UT are given in Table 1 at the end of this Chapter.

Allocation to strata: Within each sector of a State/UT, the respective sample size will be allocated to the different strata in proportion to the stratum population as per census 2001. Allocations at stratum level will be adjusted to a multiple of 2 with a minimum sample size of 2. However, attempt will be made to allocate a multiple of 4 FSUs to a stratum as far as possible. Selection of FSUs: FSUs will be selected with Probability Proportional to Size with replacement (PPSWR), size being the population as per population census 1991 in all the strata for rural sector except for stratum 1. In stratum 1 of rural sector and in all the strata of urban sector, selection will be done using Simple Random Sampling without replacement (SRSWOR). Samples will be drawn in the form of two independent sub-samples.

Note: Detail sampling procedure is provided as external resource.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Schedule 33 (Situation Assessment Survey) has been split into several blocks to obtain detailed information on various aspects of farmer households.

Block 0- Descriptive identification of sample household: This block is meant for recording descriptive identification particulars of a sample household.

Block 1- Identification of sample household: items 1 to 12: The identification particulars for items 1, 6 - 11 will be copied from the corresponding items of block 1 of listing schedule (Sch.0.0). The particulars to be recorded in items 2, 3, 4 and 5 have already been printed in the schedule.

Block 2- Particulars of field operation: The identity of the Investigator, Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent associated, date of survey/inspection/scrutiny of schedules, despatch, etc., will be recorded in this block against the appropriate items in the relevant columns.

Block 3- Household characteristics: Characteristics which are mainly intended to be used to classify the households for tabulation will be recorded in this block.

Block 4- Demographic and other particulars of household members: All members of the sample household will be listed in this block. Demographic particulars (viz., relation to head, sex, age, marital status and general education), nature of work, current weekly status, wage and salary earnings etc. will be recorded for each member using one line for one member.

Block 5- Perception of household regarding sufficiency of food: This block will record information about perception of households regarding sufficiency of food.

Block 6- Perceptions regarding some general aspects of farming: In this block some information regarding perception of the farmer household about some general aspects of farming are to be recorded.

Block 7- Particulars of land possessed during Kharif/Rabi: This block is designed to record information regarding the land on which farming activities are carried out by the farmer household during Kharif/Rabi.

Block 8- Area under irrigation during Kharif/Rabi: In this block information regarding the area under irrigation during last 365 days for different crops will be recorded according to the source of irrigation.

Block 9- Some particulars of farming resources used for cultivation during Kharif / Rabi: Information regarding farming resources used for cultivation during the last 365 days will be ascertained from the farmer households and will be recorded in this block.

Block 10- Use of energy during last 365 days: This block will be

Almost *** million were employed in India's agriculture sector in financial year 2024. However, the number of employees was the highest in fiscal year 2022 at over *** million. The industry saw an overall decline in the number of employees.

Abstract

Agriculture plays an important role in India's economy. It provides gainful employment to a large section of population of the country, particularly, the rural population. It contributes to the socio-cultural development of the farming community. The land holding provides them the confidence and strength to stay and survive in the society. In view of the importance of agriculture, Government of India has been conducting comprehensive Agriculture Censuses for collection of data on structure and characteristics of agricultural holdings, as part of World Census of Agriculture Programme since 1970-71. Operational holding, being the basic unit of decision-making in agriculture, detailed data on structure of agricultural holdings and its characteristics are necessary for formulation of any meaningful and effective strategy for agricultural development.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Households

Universe

The statistical unit was the operational holding, defined as an entity comprising all land that is used wholly or partly for agricultural production and is operated as one technical unit by one person alone or with others, without regard to the title, legal form, size or location. A technical unit was defined as the unit that is under the same management and has the same means of production, such as labour force, machinery, animals, credit, etc. The operated area includes both cultivated and uncultivated area, provided that a part of it is put to agricultural production during the reference period.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

(a) Sampling design For the collection of data in the Agriculture Census, an approach of Census-cum-sample survey has been adopted. Various States in the country have been grouped in to two categories i.e. land record States and non-land record States. Those States where comprehensive land records are maintained giving information on land and its utilization, cropping pattern etc are called land record States and those States where such information is not maintained in the form of land-records are called nonland record States. In land record States data on Agriculture Census is pooled for all the parcels of an operational holding irrespective of its location. However, for operational convenience the outer limit for pooling is restricted to taluka. This pooling is done for each operational holder in the village of his residence. In the non-land record States the data is collected through sample survey following household enquiry approach in 20% of villages in each block. In these selected villages, all the operational holdings are enumerated following household enquiry approach.Thus in land record States no sampling is resorted to for data collection for the number and area of operational holdings and in nonland record States sampling of villages in each block/taluka is resorted to

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Three questionnaires were used, one for each of the three phases of the census:

· Phase I questionnaire, for collecting data on number and area of operational holdings, according to the prescribed size classes2 for different social groups,3 types of holdings' and gender.

· Phase II questionnaire, for collecting data on: (i) dispersal of holdings; (ii) tenancy and terms of leasing; (iii) land utilization; (iv) irrigation status and source-wise area irrigated; (v) cropping pattern

· Phase III questionnaire, for collecting additional data.

The AC 2011 questionnaires covered 12 items of the 16 core items recommended for the WCA 2010 round. The exceptions were: (i) "Presence of aquaculture on the holding" (ii) "Other economic production activities of the holding's enterprise" (iii) "Number of animals on the holding for each livestock type" (iv) "Presence of forests and other woodland on the holding"

See questionnaire in external materials.

Cleaning operations

(a) DATA PROCESSING AND ARCHIVING In-house software was developed for data entry and processing of census data. Data entry, data validation and error correction, the generation of trial tables, and the generation of final tables and their examination by states or UTs took place according to the three phases of the census. All questionnaires were manually scrutinized by the statistical staff before they were submitted for data entry. Data are archived at tehsil level and are available in the public domain. The data entry and processing software included checks of census data for inconsistencies and mismatch.

Data appraisal

Census data are compiled at the national and tehsil level. The All India Report of Agriculture Census 2010-2011 is based on the data collected during Phase-II of the Census. The detailed data of AC 2010/2011 results are available on the website of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers' Welfare.

Abstract

Millions of farmers in India have made significant contributions in providing food and nutrition to the entire nation, while also providing livelihoods to millions of people in the country. During the past five decades of planned economic development, India has moved from food-shortage and imports to self-sufficiency and exports. Food security and well being of the farmer appears to be major areas of concern of the planners and policy makers of Indian agriculture. In order to have a comprehensive picture of the farming community at the commencement of the third millennium, and to analyze the impact of the transformation induced by public policy, investments and technological change on the farmers' access to resources and income, as well as well-being; the Ministry of Agriculture decided to collect information on Indian farmers through a Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) and entrusted the job of conducting the survey to the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

The SAS 2003 is the first of its kind to be conducted by NSSO. Though information on a majority of items to be collected through SAS have been collected in some round or other of NSS, an integrated schedule - Schedule 33, covering some basic characteristics of farming households and their access to basic and modern farming resources was canvassed for the first time in SAS. Moreover, information on consumption of various goods and services in an abridged form were also collected to have an idea about the pattern of consumption expenditure of the farming households.

Schedule 33 was designed for collecting information on aspects relating to farming and other socio-economic characteristics of farming households. The information was collected in two visits to the same set of sample households. The first visit was made during January to August 2003 and the second, during September to December 2003. The survey was conducted in rural areas only. It was canvassed in the Central Sample except for the States of Maharashtra and Meghalaya where it was canvassed in both State and Central samples.

Geographic coverage

National Coverage

Analysis unit

Households

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

A stratified multi-stage sampling design was adopted for the SAS 2003, 59th round. The First Stage Unit (FSU), also known as the primary sampling unit, was the census village in the rural sector and UFS block in the urban sector. The Ultimate Stage Units (USUs) were households in both sectors. Hamlet-group / sub-block constitute the intermediate stage, if these are formed in the selected area.

The list of villages (panchayat wards for Kerala) based on the Population Census of 1991 constituted the sampling frame for FSUs in rural areas, while the latest UFS frame was the sampling frame used for urban areas. For stratification of towns by size class, provisional population of towns as per Census 2001 was used. A detailed description of the sampling strrategy can be found in the estimation procedure document attached in the documentation/external resource.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face paper [f2f]

Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in India was reported at 43.51 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Rural population (% of total population) in India was reported at 63.13 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

In financial year 2022, over 55 percent of the rural workforce in India was employed in the agriculture sector. The country noticed a decline in the share of agriculture in rural employment since the financial year 1991.

In 2023, 43.51 percent of the workforce in India were employed in agriculture, while the other half was almost evenly distributed among the two other sectors, industry and services. While the share of Indians working in agriculture is declining, it is still the main sector of employment. A BRIC powerhouseTogether with Brazil, Russia, and China, India makes up the four so-called BRIC countries. They are the four fastest-growing emerging countries dubbed BRIC, an acronym, by Jim O’Neill at Goldman Sachs. Being major economies themselves already, these four countries are said to be at a similar economic developmental stage -- on the verge of becoming industrialized countries -- and maybe even dominating the global economy. Together, they are already larger than the rest of the world when it comes to GDP and simple population figures. Among these four, India is ranked second across almost all key indicators, right behind China. Services on the riseWhile most of the Indian workforce is still employed in the agricultural sector, it is the services sector that generates most of the country’s GDP. In fact, when looking at GDP distribution across economic sectors, agriculture lags behind with a mere 15 percent contribution. Some of the leading services industries are telecommunications, software, textiles, and chemicals, and production only seems to increase – currently, the GDP in India is growing, as is employment.

A survey conducted from 2021 to 2022 reported that around ** percent of all rural households surveyed across India were engaged in agriculture. The share increased from 2017 to 2022, with ***************** reporting the highest share of agricultural to rural households among other states.

Rural population in India was reported at 916019293 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

India Census: Population: Rural: Female data was reported at 405,967,794.000 Person in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 360,948,755.000 Person for 2001. India Census: Population: Rural: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 383,458,274.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 405,967,794.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 360,948,755.000 Person in 2001. India Census: Population: Rural: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Census of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAB001: Census: Population.

Rural population growth (annual %) in India was reported at 0.11312 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Rural population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

India: Rural population, percent of total population: The latest value from 2023 is 63.64 percent, a decline from 64.13 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 38.64 percent, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for India from 1960 to 2023 is 73.97 percent. The minimum value, 63.64 percent, was reached in 2023 while the maximum of 82.08 percent was recorded in 1960.

The statistic displays the number of elderly people living in rural and urban areas in India between 1961 and 2011. In 2011, over 30 million people with the age of 60 years or above were living in urban areas in India. A large number of elderly population are living in rural areas.

India Census: Population: Rural: Age: Total data was reported at 833,748,852.000 Person in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 742,490,639.000 Person for 2001. India Census: Population: Rural: Age: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 742,490,639.000 Person from Mar 1991 (Median) to 2011, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 833,748,852.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 622,796,324.000 Person in 1991. India Census: Population: Rural: Age: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Census of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAD003: Census: Population: by Single Age: Rural.

People practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population) in India was reported at 17.01 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - People practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

According to a survey on the internet usage across rural India in 2017, it was found that approximately 14 percent of the surveyed farmers used internet to browse, chat and listen to songs. Other popular activities online included online education, bank transfers ad photo sharing.

Crop diversity is thought to have small, positive impacts on dietary diversity among farming households, particularly when market access is restricted. Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic severely restricted market access. To date, no study has explored the relationship between crop and dietary diversity in this context. To address this gap, we used longitudinal data collected from 833 farmers across 12 states in India at three time points between May and August 2020. Dietary diversity was measured using a modified version of the FAO Minimum Dietary Diversity score for women, which has been used in representative samples of the Indian population in both men and women. Eight food groups were included: (1) starchy staples (rice, wheat, and potatoes), (2) pulses, (3) nuts, (4) vegetables, (5) fruits, (6) dairy, (7) eggs, and (8) fleshy foods (meat, poultry, and fish). Multivariate polynomial logistic regression was used to estimate the association between crop and dietary diversity. Models were adjusted for educational attainment, caste, farm size, having a kitchen garden, and livestock ownership. Participants were, on average, 42.2 years old and 94.2% were male. Dietary diversity decreased over the study period, especially between baseline and follow-up 1, when lockdown measures were the most restrictive (34.2% of participants experienced a decline compared to 16.1% from follow-up 1 to follow-up 2). Compared to farmers who cultivated 1 crop (monocroppers), farmers who cultivated 2 crops or 3 or more crops were significantly less likely to experience a decline in dietary diversity from baseline to follow-up 1: adjusted relative risk (RR) (95% confidence interval [CI]), 0.52 (0.35, 0.78) and 0.48 (0.31, 0.75), respectively. There was no significant association between crop diversity and change in dietary diversity from follow-up 1 to follow-up 2, when phased re-opening had begun. These findings suggest that farmers with greater crop diversity in India were more resilient to market disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, while the links between crop and dietary diversity may be small under normal circumstances, diversifying production systems may play an increasingly important role, as there is greater uncertainty due to global events such as pandemics and climate change.

Abstract

In order to have a comprehensive picture of the farming community and to analyze the impact of the transformation induced by public policy, investments and technological change on the farmers' access to resources and income as well as well-being of the farmer households it was decided to collect information on Indian farmers through “Situation Assessment Survey” (SAS). The areas of interest for conducting SAS would include economic well-being of farmer households as measured by consumer expenditure, income and productive assets, and indebtedness; their farming practices and preferences, resource availability, and their awareness of technological developments and access to modern technology in the field of agriculture. In this survey, detailed information would be collected on receipts and expenses of households' farm and non-farm businesses, to arrive at their income from these sources. Income from other sources would also be ascertained, and so would be the consumption expenditure of the households.

Geographic coverage

National, State, Rural, Urban

Analysis unit

Houdeholds

Universe

All Households of the type : 1-self-employed in agriculture 2-self-employed in non-agriculture 3-regular wage/salary earning 4-casual labour in agriculture 5-casual labour in non-agriculture 6-others

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Total sample size (FSUs): 8042 FSUs have been allocated for the central sample at all-India level. For the state sample, there are 8998 FSUs allocated for all-India. sample design: A stratified multi-stage design has been adopted for the 70th round survey. The first stage units (FSU) are the census villages (Panchayat wards in case of Kerala) in the rural sector and Urban Frame Survey (UFS) blocks in the urban sector. The ultimate stage units (USU) are households in both the sectors. In case of large FSUs, one intermediate stage of sampling is the selection of two hamlet-groups (hgs)/ sub-blocks (sbs) from each rural/ urban FSU.

Sampling Frame for First Stage Units: For the rural sector, the list of 2001 census villages updated by excluding the villages urbanised and including the towns de-urbanised after 2001 census (henceforth the term 'village' would mean Panchayat wards for Kerala) constitutes the sampling frame. For the urban sector, the latest updated list of UFS blocks (2007-12) is considered as the sampling frame.

Stratification:

(a) Stratum has been formed at district level. Within each district of a State/ UT, generally speaking, two basic strata have been formed: i) rural stratum comprising of all rural areas of the district and (ii) urban stratum comprising all the urban areas of the district. However, within the urban areas of a district, if there were one or more towns with population 10 lakhs or more as per population census 2011 in a district, each of them formed a separate basic stratum and the remaining urban areas of the district was considered as another basic stratum.

(b) However, a special stratum in the rural sector only was formed at State/UT level before district- strata were formed in case of each of the following 20 States/UTs: Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. This stratum will comprise all the villages of the State with population less than 50 as per census 2001.

(c) In case of rural sectors of Nagaland one special stratum has been formed within the State consisting of all the interior and inaccessible villages. Similarly, for Andaman & Nicobar Islands, one more special stratum has been formed within the UT consisting of all inaccessible villages. Thus for Andaman & Nicobar Islands, two special strata have been formed at the UT level:

(i) special stratum 1 comprising all the interior and inaccessible villages (ii) special stratum 2 containing all the villages, other than those in special stratum 1, having population less than 50 as per census 2001.

Sub-stratification:

Rural sector: Different sub-stratifications are done for 'hilly' States and other States. Ten (10) States are considered as hilly States. They are: Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

(a) sub-stratification for hilly States: If 'r' be the sample size allocated for a rural stratum, the number of sub-strata formed was 'r/2'. The villages within a district as per frame have been first arranged in ascending order of population. Then sub-strata 1 to 'r/2' have been demarcated in such a way that each sub-stratum comprised a group of villages of the arranged frame and have more or less equal population.

(b) sub-stratification for other States (non-hilly States except Kerala): The villages within a district as per frame were first arranged in ascending order of proportion of irrigated area in the cultivated area of the village. Then sub-strata 1 to 'r/2' have been demarcated in such a way that each sub-stratum comprised a group of villages of the arranged frame and have more or less equal cultivated area. The information on irrigated area and cultivated area was obtained from the village directory of census 2001.

(c) sub-stratification for Kerala: Although Kerala is a non-hilly State but because of non-availability of information on irrigation at FSU (Panchayat Ward) level, sub-stratification by proportion of irrigated area was not possible. Hence the procedure for sub-stratification was same as that of hilly States in case of Kerala.

Urban sector: There was no sub-stratification for the strata of million plus cities. For other strata, each district was divided into 2 sub-strata as follows:

 sub-stratum 1: all towns of the district with population less than 50000 as per census 2011 
 sub-stratum 2: remaining non-million plus towns of the district

Allocation of total sample to States and UTs: The total number of sample FSUs have been allocated to the States and UTs in proportion to population as per census 2011 subject to a minimum sample allocation to each State/ UT.
Allocation to strata: Within each sector of a State/ UT, the respective sample size has been allocated to the different strata in proportion to the population as per census 2011. Allocations at stratum level are adjusted to multiples of 2 with a minimum sample size of 2. Allocation to sub-strata:

1 Rural: Allocation is 2 for each sub-stratum in rural.

2 Urban: Stratum allocations have been distributed among the two sub-strata in proportion to the number of FSUs in the sub-strata. Minimum allocation for each sub-stratum is 2. Selection of FSUs: For the rural sector, from each stratum x sub-stratum, required number of sample villages has been selected by Simple Random Sampling Without Replacement (SRSWOR). For the urban sector, FSUs have been selected by using Simple Random Sampling Without Replacement (SRSWOR) from each stratum x sub-stratum. Both rural and urban samples were drawn in the form of two independent sub-samples and equal number of samples has been allocated among the two sub rounds.

For details reexternal refer to external resouce "Note on Sample Design and Estimation Procedure of NSS 70th Round" Page no.2

Sampling deviation

There was no deviation from the original sampling design.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

There are 17 blocks in visit 1. In Visits 1 & 2, Each sample FSU will be visited twice during this round. Since the workload of the first visit (i.e. visit 1) will be more, the first visit will continue till the end of July 2013. Thus, period of the first visit will be January - July 2013 and that of the second visit (i.e. visit 2) will be August - December 2013.

Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population) in India was reported at 99.2 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.