NEW DELHI:: India has over 4 lakh beggars, with the highest 81,244 beggars in West Bengal, while Lakshadweep merely has two vagrants according to the 2011 census, Union Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot informed the Rajya Sabha.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, as per the 2011 census, 4,13,670 beggars including 2,21,673 males and 1,91,997 females are residing in India.
West Bengal ranked top with 81,224 beggars followed by 65,835 beggars in Uttar Pradesh, 30,218 in Andhra Pradesh, 29,723 in Bihar, 28,695 in Madhya Pradesh, 25,853 in Rajasthan. Delhi has 2,187 beggars whereas Chandigarh has only 121 beggars.
Lakshadweep has only two beggars, while Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and the Andaman and Nicobar islands have 19, 22, and 56 vagrants respectively, according to the government's data.