GUWAHATI: In Assam, people belonging to the general category and Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and Other Backwards Castes have nearly the same purchasing power.
Referring to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Assam has the lowest consumption inequality.
He attributed this to the casteless society envisaged by Srimanta Sankardev, the 15th-16th century neo-Vaishnavite saint-reformer.
“Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev envisaged Assam as a casteless society. Thanks to His teachings, today we have the lowest consumption inequality as per @GoIStats,” Sarma posted on X.
Explaining it, he added that a general category person and a person belonging to SC/ST/OBC in Assam have nearly the same purchasing power.
Assam is followed by West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh as more equal states. Kerala is more unequal, and it is followed by Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan, the ministry’s data revealed.
The survey is designed to collect information on the consumption and expenditure of households on goods and services. It provides data required to assess trends in economic well-being and determine and update the basket of consumer goods and services.