Indicus Consumer Handbook - Asset Penetration and Housing Conditions

CHAPTER THREE

Asset Penetration and Housing
Conditions

DURABLE AND GOODS PENETRATION
Most homes in India have a cot or a bed, but a large proportion of
those do not have mattresses. Though data is unavailable, it is
likely that despite the presence of cots/beds in most Indian house-
holds, the large majority of Indians sleep on the floor as average
home area is small and there is not that much space for furniture.
Apart from cots, timepieces (watches and clocks) are the most
prevalent, followed by mattresses, chairs and electric fans. This is
followed by televisions, where almost half of all households in the
country have access to either a colour or black and white TV. With
improvements in access to electricity, it is likely that the penetra-
tion of fans will go up further. Refrigerator is the next most impor-
tant white good that has great potential demand. However, unlike
the fan, the refrigerator requires 24-by-7 electricity for it to be of
any use. Given the poor supply of electricity in greater part of
India (in most rural areas it continues to be limited to a few hours
a day), the utility of refrigerators is quite doubtful. The large ma-
jority of households still do not have a mobile phone, but at the
current rate of expansion, it is only a matter of time, before pen-
etration of mobiles would be more or less universal.
Among all durables and various household goods, rural pen-
etration rates are lower than those in urban areas. This is not only
due to lower aggregate incomes in rural India; a large number of
manufacturers of such items have not been able to penetrate into
the hinterlands as much as they would like to. The cost of selling
and servicing in far flung areas are quite high; in urban areas,
however, the concentration of demand makes it easier to spread
such costs over larger sales.
The bicycle continues to be the preferred means of transport
for Indians; but two wheelers have been catching up rapidly in the
last couple of decades. With increased rural incomes, improved
rural roads (the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana seeks to con-
nect all the 600,000 odd villages in the country with surfaced
roads), greater spread of petrol pumps; it is only a matter of time
when the majority of Indian households would have graduated to
two wheelers. Barely 3 per cent of Indian households have access

Ch-03_Bharati.p65 41 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

to a car with most being in urban areas. Very low cost cars are
about to make an entry into rural and urban markets in the near
future; however, given their larger fuel consumption, greater price
and maintenance costs; it will be some time before they will be
able to compete with the two wheelers.
Small-sized households with one or two rooms and with five
to six persons living in them are highly space constrained entities.
This keeps a check on the type and scale at which the poor and the
lower middle classes use various consumer goods and durables.
Hence with improved incomes not only will households need to
change housing conditions, but housing itself.

HOUSING CONDITIONS
Housing conditions are at the very core of understanding consum-
ers’ economic characteristics and their decision-making. In poor
country, such as India, the bulk of homes have a single dwelling
room, but there is a significant and growing middle class and the
affluent, and this is reflected in a pyramidical distribution of
households by number of rooms.
Low standard of living is also reflected in the fact that the ma-
jority of households have kuccha (tiles or grass/bamboo, etc.)
roof. Concrete roofs are rapidly growing in importance and will
soon overtake all other. The floor however is another story, mud
flooring rules – it has significant cost advantages and is not too
difficult to maintain as well. However, as more and more people
put up concrete walls and roofs, having tiled or stone flooring will
be a natural progression.
Energy is required by households for both lighting and cook-
ing. Electricity has finally taken over as the most accessed source
for lighting by rich and poor households alike. Kerosene is a dis-
tant second. Non conventional sources such as solar energy are
insignificant and given the costs as well as maintenance issues,
are not likely to become a significant source in the near future.
Greater access to electricity for lighting has, however, not
been matched by greater access to either electricity or LPG (liquid
petroleum gas) for cooking. Firewood is by far the most important
source of cooking for Indian households in rural areas followed
by dung cakes and LPG a distant third. But it is only the upper
economic segments where LPG has decent enough penetration
rates. LPG is the most important source of cooking energy in ur-
ban areas and its importance will only grow.
But it is not only economic criteria or accessibility that deter-
mines usage of particular sources for cooking. A large number of
households cook in the open, flame-based cooking such as in the

42 THE INDICUS CONSUMER HANDBOOK

Ch-03_Bharati.p65 42 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

3
case of firewood; it is relatively more difficult in such areas, and it
is here that dung has an advantage. It is a slow burning fuel that is
difficult for the winds to blow out. Given that LPG is also charac-
terized by flame-based cooking, it is unlikely that the objective of
universal usage of LPG can ever be met as long as all households
do not have separate covered kitchens/cooking.
Few households in India have separate bathrooms, and only a
minority access water from taps. Closed drainage is also a rarity.
Spread and quality of public infrastructure greatly impacts living
conditions. Few cities in India have a sewage system (and most of
those drain into our rivers) and therefore households have to de-
pend upon septic tanks. However, septic tanks require space
which is difficult for the lower income homeowners to obtain in
urban areas. Some home owners, therefore, have to resort to dig-
ging pits (but those are no permanent solutions), still others have
to resort to open drains, again not an attractive option.
But with increasing incomes, greater electricity, road, and wa-
ter and sanitation infrastructure investments, we will see a great
churn in such living conditions in coming years. This in turn will
impact household purchase of various goods and services as well.

Exhibit 3.1 Per cent distribution of households by size of dwelling units
occupied

Size of dwelling 1991 2001
units occupied Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban
No Exclusive Room – – – 3.1 3.4 2.3
One Room 40.5 40.8 39.6 38.5 39.8 35.1
Two Rooms 30.6 30.7 30.4 30.0 30.2 29.5
Three Rooms 13.9 13.5 14.8 14.4 13.3 17.1
Four Rooms 7.1 6.9 7.8 7.5 7.0 8.7
Five Rooms 3.2 3.2 3.1 2.9 2.8 3.3
Six or More Rooms 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6 4.0
Unspecified number 0.9 1.0 0.5 – – –
of rooms
Total 100.1 100.0 100.0 100.1 100.1 100.0
Source: Office of the Registrar General of India
Note: Data for the year 1991 exclude Jammu & Kashmir. Besides, these exclude
institutional population

ASSET PENETRATION AND HOUSING CONDITIONS 43

Ch-03_Bharati.p65 43 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

Exhibit 3.2 Households across dwelling rooms

80000 Number of households

Number of households
70000
60000
50000

('000s)
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
No exclusive room

One room

Six rooms and above
Two rooms

Three rooms

Four rooms

Five rooms
Number of dwelling rooms

Source: CSO

Exhibit 3.3 Percentage distribution of households by source of drinking water

Size of drinking 1991 2001
water Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban
Tap 32.26 20.64 65.06 36.70 24.29 68.66
Well 32.23 38.01 15.91 18.17 22.22 7.71
Tubewell/handpump 30.04 34.90 16.32 41.22 48.94 21.35
Tank/pond 1.33 1.69 0.31 1.01 1.28 0.31
River, canal and lake 2.00 2.58 0.36 1.01 1.33 0.19
Spring – – – 0.74 0.93 0.25
Others 2.14 2.18 2.04 1.15 1.01 1.53
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: Office of the Registrar General of India
Notes: Data for the Census year 1991 exclude Jammu & Kashmir.

Exhibit 3.4 Per cent distribution of urban, rural, and total households and de
jure population by source of drinking water

Source of drinking water Urban Rural Total De jure
population*
Improved source 95.00 84.50 87.90 87.60
Pipedwater into dwelling/yard/plot 50.70 11.80 24.50 23.50
Publictap/standpipe 20.30 16.10 17.50 15.30
Tubewell or borehole 21.30 53.20 42.80 45.80
Protected dugwell 1.80 2.80 2.50 2.40
Protected spring 0.10 0.30 0.20 0.20
Rainwater 0.00 0.20 0.10 0.10
Exhibit 3.4 Contd.


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3
Exhibit 3.4 (Contd.) Per cent distribution of urban, rural, and total households
and de jure population by source of drinking water

population*
Bottled water, improved source for 0.80 0.10 0.30 0.30
cooking, handwashing1
Non-improved source 4.80 15.40 11.90 12.20
Unprotected dug well 2.90 12.40 9.30 9.60
Unprotected spring 0.10 0.80 0.60 0.60
Tanker truck/cart with small tank 0.90 0.30 0.50 0.50
Surface water 0.80 1.80 1.50 1.50
Bottled water, non-improved source 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00
for cooking, handwashing
Other source 0.20 0.10 0.20 0.10
Total # 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: NFHS III, 2005–06
Note: # Total percentages may add to more than 100.0 because multiple answers
are allowed,
*The de jure population is a concept under which individuals (or vital events) are
recorded (or are attributed) to a geographical area on the basis of the place of
residence

Exhibit 3.5 Number of households having the particular material of roof

Material of roof Number of households
Grass, thatch, bamboo, wood, mud, etc. 53,386,004
Plastic, polythene 1,173,771
Tiles 75,526,970
Slate 2,808,660
G.I., metal, asbestos sheets 30,487,215
Brick 14,074,492
Stone 17,153,862
Concrete 52,839,227
Any other material 1,645,668
Source: Census of India, 2001

Exhibit 3.6 Number of households having particular material of floor

Material of roof Number of households
Mud 136,779,853
Wood, bamboo 2,286,504
Brick 6,287,685
Stone 14,507,423
Cement 69,712,015
Mosaic, floor tiles 18,544,232
Any other material 978,157


Ch-03_Bharati.p65 45 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

Exhibit 3.7 Number of households across source of lighting

Source of lighting Number of households
Electricity 107,209,054
Kerosene 83,127,739
Solar energy 522,561
Other oil 184,424
Any other 305,308
No lighting 614,849

Exhibit 3.8 Type of drainage

Type of drainage Number of households
Closed drainage 23,925,761
Open drainage 65,142,354
No drainage 102,895,820
Number of households having bathroom facility 69,371,158
within the house

Exhibit 3.9 Per cent distribution of urban, rural, and total households and de
jure population by source of drinking water

population*
Improved source 95.00 84.50 87.90 87.60
Pipedwater into dwelling/yard/plot 50.70 11.80 24.50 23.50
Publictap/standpipe 20.30 16.10 17.50 15.30
Tubewell or borehole 21.30 53.20 42.80 45.80
Protected dugwell 1.80 2.80 2.50 2.40
Protected spring 0.10 0.30 0.20 0.20
Rainwater 0.00 0.20 0.10 0.10
Bottled water, improved source 0.80 0.10 0.30 0.30
for cooking, handwashing1
Non-improved source 4.80 15.40 11.90 12.20
Unprotected dug well 2.90 12.40 9.30 9.60
Unprotected spring 0.10 0.80 0.60 0.60
Tanker truck/cart with small tank 0.90 0.30 0.50 0.50
Surface water 0.80 1.80 1.50 1.50
Bottled water, non-improved source 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00
for cooking, handwashing
Other source 0.20 0.10 0.20 0.10
Total# 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Note: # Total percentages may add to more than 100.0 because multiple answers
are allowed,
*The de jure population is a concept under which individuals (or vital events) are
recorded (or are attributed) to a geographical area on the basis of the place of
residence


Ch-03_Bharati.p65 46 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

3
Exhibit 3.10 Per cent distribution of urban, rural, and total households and
de jure population by type of toilet/latrine facilities
Type of toilet/latrine facility Urban Rural Total De jure
population*
Improved, not shared 52.80 17.60 29.10 29.40
Flush/pour flush to piped sewer 18.80 0.60 6.60 6.50
system
Flush/pour flush to septic tank 27.60 10.60 16.10 16.30
Flush/pour flush to pit latrine 4.70 4.10 4.30 4.40
Ventilated improved pit (VIP) 0.20 0.10 0.20 0.20
latrine/biogas latrine
Pit latrine with slab 1.40 2.20 1.90 2.00
Twin pit, composting toilet 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Not improved 46.70 82.20 70.60 70.30
Any facility shared with other 24.20 5.30 11.50 10.20
households
Flush/pour flush not to sewer/ 4.40 0.20 1.60 1.40
septic tank/pit latrine
Pit latrine without slab/open pit 0.70 2.20 1.70 1.80
Dry toilet 0.50 0.60 0.50 0.70
No facility/open space/field 16.80 74.00 55.30 56.20
Other 0.40 0.10 0.20 0.20
Missing 0.20 0.10 0.10 0.10
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Note: *The de jure population is a concept under which individuals (or vital
events) are recorded (or are attributed) to a geographical area on the basis of the
place of residence

de jure population by housing characteristics

Housing characteristic Urban Rural Total De jure
population
Electricity
Yes 93.10 55.70 67.90 67.20
No 6.90 44.30 32.10 32.80
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Type of house1
Kachha 2.50 19.10 13.70 13.40
Semi-pucca 15.80 51.60 39.90 41.60
Pucca 81.20 28.80 45.90 44.50
Missing 0.40 0.50 0.50 0.50
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Persons per room used for sleeping
<3 47.30 41.90 43.70 34.10
3 to 4 34.30 34.50 34.40 36.70
5 to 6 14.20 17.10 16.20 19.70
7+ 4.00 6.40 5.60 9.40
Missing 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00


Ch-03_Bharati.p65 47 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

Note: 1 Houses made from mud, thatch, or other low-quality materials are called
kachha houses, houses that use partly low-quality and partly high-quality materi-
als are called semi-pucca houses, and houses made with high quality materials
throughout, including the floor, roof, and exterior walls, are called pucca houses.

de jure population by housing characteristics

Housing characteristic Urban Rural Total De jure
population
Cooking fuel
Electricity 0.90 0.10 0.40 0.40
LPG/natural gas 58.70 8.20 24.70 22.90
Biogas 0.50 0.40 0.50 0.50
Kerosene 8.20 0.80 3.20 2.60
Coal/lignite 4.30 0.80 1.90 1.90
Charcoal 0.50 0.30 0.40 0.40
Wood 22.00 61.70 48.70 49.30
Straw/shrubs/grass 0.50 7.60 5.30 5.40
Agricultural crop waste 0.80 5.40 3.90 4.00
Dung cakes 2.80 14.40 10.60 12.60
Other 0.80 0.20 0.40 0.10
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Place for cooking
In the house, separate room 58.90 34.10 42.20 43.00
In the house, no separate room 27.20 33.90 31.70 30.70
In a separate building 4.30 9.90 8.10 8.50
Outdoors 8.70 21.80 17.50 17.50
Other 0.60 0.20 0.30 0.10
Missing 0.20 0.10 0.20 0.10
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Number 35579.00 73462.00 109041.00 522027.00

Type of fire/stove among households using solid fuels2
Stove with chimney 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00
Open fire/chullah under 9.00 8.20 8.30 8.50
a chimney
Stove without chimney 0.40 0.10 0.20 0.20
Open fire/chullah not under 89.60 90.80 90.70 90.50
a chimney
Other 0.30 0.00 0.00 0.00
Missing 0.60 0.80 0.70 0.80
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Number using solid fuel 10986.00 66251.00 77236.00 383715.00
Note: 2 Includes coal/lignite, charcoal, wood, straw/shrubs/grass, agricultural
crop waste, and dung cakes.


Ch-03_Bharati.p65 48 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

Ch-03_Bharati.p65
Exhibit 3.13 Per 1000 distribution of households by primary source of energy for cooking for each MPCE class in rural areas

MPCE class No cooking Primary source of energy for cooking
(Rs) arrangement
Coke/Coal Fire wood LPG Gobar Dung Charcoal Kerosene Electricity Others NR Total
& chips Gas Cake
0 – 225 8 4 855 9 0 68 0 0 0 56 0 1000
225 – 255 0 11 833 12 1 86 1 0 0 56 0 1000

49
255 – 300 4 6 832 10 0 101 2 2 0 42 1 1000
300 – 340 10 5 808 11 0 105 1 3 0 56 0 1000
340 – 380 6 10 818 19 3 98 0 3 0 41 0 1000
380 – 420 1 8 801 30 3 110 0 3 0 44 0 1000
420 – 470 5 11 834 30 3 81 0 4 0 32 0 1000
470 – 525 3 9 799 57 3 95 0 8 0 26 1 1000
525 – 615 4 8 796 74 3 79 0 9 1 25 0 1000
615 – 775 7 6 734 131 4 87 0 12 0 18 0 1000
775 – 950 8 7 642 227 5 71 0 20 1 19 0 1000
950 + 25 8 423 439 4 60 0 27 3 10 0 1000
all classes 6 8 770 82 3 89 0 8 0 34 0 1000

ASSET PENETRATION AND HOUSING CONDITIONS
estd. hhs. 277 11257 1103263 117093 3847 126857 484 10763 713 48130 383 1432066
sample hhs. 108 374 36672 4271 122 4050 29 348 29 1282 17 47302

49
Source: NSS 60th Round, 2004

1/6/2009, 1:08 PM
3

Ch-03_Bharati.p65
Exhibit 3.14 Per 1000 distribution of households by primary source of energy for cooking for each MPCE class in urban areas

50
MPCE class No cooking Primary source of energy for cooking
(Rs) arrangement
Coke/Coal Fire wood LPG Gobar Dung Charcoal Kerosene Electricity Others NR Total
& chips gas cake
0 –300 48 92 634 128 0 32 5 20 0 40 0 1000
300 – 350 35 65 606 159 0 51 11 44 1 29 0 1000

50
350 – 425 32 35 585 202 1 37 1 92 0 16 0 1000
425 – 500 9 52 478 287 0 34 4 115 3 18 0 1000
500 – 575 26 46 429 333 5 29 1 96 4 30 0 1000
575 – 665 42 31 331 424 0 16 3 144 1 7 0 1000
665 – 775 20 40 253 494 1 11 3 172 3 5 0 1000
775 – 915 31 22 170 623 0 6 0 135 4 8 0 1000
915 – 1120 40 25 97 657 1 8 0 163 5 5 0 1000

THE INDICUS CONSUMER HANDBOOK
1120 – 1500 66 7 52 757 0 3 1 101 3 10 0 1000
1500 – 1925 39 9 22 861 0 1 0 49 7 12 0 1000
1925 + 107 0 15 853 0 1 0 13 0 10 0 1000
all classes 44 27 223 566 1 13 1 110 3 12 0 1000
estd. hhs. 24724 15051 123747 314275 310 7431 828 61240 1585 6400 50 555641
sample hhs. 339 816 6196 16357 21 339 69 2106 89 225 9 26566
Source: NSS 60th Round, 2004

1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

3
Exhibit 3.15 Number of households across type of fuel used for cooking

Type of fuel used Availability of separate kitchen within the house
for cooking
Available Cooking in Not available Total
open
Firewood 62,398,392 13,376,588 25,067,671 100,842,651
Crop residue 7,914,771 3,621,919 7,718,161 19,254,851
Cowdung cake 9,016,459 3,926,266 5,816,160 18,758,885
Coal, lignite, charcoal 2,294,194 429,171 1,209,365 3,932,730
Kerosene 8,564,798 528,410 3,435,708 12,528,916
LPG 31,079,163 387,143 2,130,492 33,596,798
Electricity 270,204 18,237 49,613 338,054
Biogas 764,793 18,728 65,577 849,098
Any other 636,590 289,693 305,444 1,231,727
No cooking 0 0 0 630,225

Exhibit 3.16 Percentage of urban, rural, and total households and de jure
population possessing various household goods

Household goods Urban Rural Total De jure
population*
Mattress 75.40 48.70 57.40 59.40
Pressure cooker 69.90 22.10 37.70 38.60
Chair 76.10 43.80 54.30 55.40
Cot or bed 86.30 81.20 82.90 85.00
Table 65.00 32.90 43.40 44.60
Electric fan 84.70 38.60 53.70 54.00
Radio or transistor 38.90 27.00 30.90 32.40
Television (black and white) 25.60 18.70 21.00 22.80
Television (colour) 51.50 12.50 25.20 25.60
Any television 73.20 30.10 44.20 45.90
Sewing machine 30.90 12.60 18.60 21.20
Mobile telephone 36.30 7.40 16.80 17.60
Any other type of telephone 26.70 8.00 14.10 14.60
Computer 8.00 0.60 3.00 2.80
Refrigerator 33.50 6.60 15.30 15.70
Watch or clock 91.00 71.40 77.80 80.50
Water pump 11.00 9.90 10.20 11.70
Thresher 0.40 2.20 1.60 2.40
Tractor 0.50 2.30 1.70 2.60
None of the above 1.20 4.40 3.40 2.50


Ch-03_Bharati.p65 51 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

Exhibit 3.17 Percentage of urban, rural, and total households and de jure
population possessing vehicles

Means of transport Urban Rural Total De jure
population*
Bicycle 50.10 51.60 51.10 56.50
Motorcycle or scooter 30.50 10.80 17.20 19.00
Animal-drawn cart 1.00 7.40 5.30 6.70
Car 6.10 1.00 2.70 2.80
None of the above 36.40 43.00 40.90 35.60
Asset Ownership

Exhibit 3.18 Asset ownership

Assets Number of households (lakh) Percentage of households
Electricity 1,372 64.09
LPG 544 25.40
TV 882 41.20
Telephone 332 15.51
2 wheeler 387 18.08
4 wheeler 78 3.62
Source: Market Skyline of India, 2006–07, Indicus Analytics

Exhibit 3.19 Asset ownership, 2006–07

1600

1400

1200
No. of households (lakh)

1000

800

600

400

200

0
e
ty

G

er

er
TV

on
ci

LP

el

el
tri

ph

he

he
ec

le

w

w
El

Te

2

4

Assets
Source: Market Skyline of India, 2006–07, Indicus Analytics


Ch-03_Bharati.p65 52 1/6/2009, 1:08 PM

Ch-03_Bharati.p65
Exhibit 3.20 Consumption profile of layers in consumption pyramid (IRS)

Layer name Household/Population Percentage of households in each layer consuming/having
(mn)
Tvs Cars PCs AC Washing 2 Modern Shampoo Bank A/C

53
(Internet) machine wheeler foods*
Samriddha I (Prosperous) 0.20 100 71 59(42) 48 81 65 55 93 94
Samriddha II (Prosperous) 0.20 100 44 42(24) 26 76 72 39 91 93
Sampanna (Well off, not wealthy) 0.20 98 24 18(3) 5 53 69 25 89 87
Siddha 0.20 94 10 4 - 30 62 9 85 80
Unmukha (Upward looking, aspiring, 0.20 92 2 - - 8 50 1 79 69
moving beyond average)
Saamaanya (Ordinary, average) 0.20 79 - - - - 30 - 70 54
Sangharshi (Strivers) 0.53 51 - - - - 6 - 69 33
Nirdhana (Poor) 0.20 6 - - - - - - 38 8
Source: Guide to Indian Markets 2006, MRUC, Hansa Research
Note: *3 out of 5 of the following products consumed = Jams, cheese, ketchup, instant noodles, soups

ASSET PENETRATION AND HOUSING CONDITIONS
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