TABLE 1.
Socio‐demographic and economic profile of the Sauria Paharia households (N = 246)
| Characteristics | n (%) |
|---|---|
| Family type | |
| Nuclear | 153 (62.2) |
| Joint | 90 (36.6) |
| Extended | 3 (1.2) |
| Religion | |
| Christian | 127 (51.6) |
| Hindu | 108 (43.9) |
| Others | 11 (4.5) |
| Gender of HOH | |
| Male | 227 (92.3) |
| Female | 19 (7.7) |
| Literacy level of HOH | |
| No formal education | 97 (39.5) |
| No formal education but can sign | 23 (9.4) |
| No formal education but can read and write | 2 (0.8) |
| Less than primary (till 4th standard) | 22 (8.9) |
| Primary but less than secondary (till 9th standard) | 80 (32.5) |
| Secondary (10th standard) and above | 22 (8.9) |
| Occupation of HOH | |
| Settled agriculture/shifting cultivation | 192 (78.1) |
| Daily wager (agriculture and non‐agriculture) | 37 (15.1) |
| Hunter/gatherer | 5 (2) |
| Craftsmen/artisans/self‐employed | 3 (1.2) |
| Service (government and private) | 6 (2.4) |
| Unemployed | 2 (0.8) |
| Housewife | 9 (0.4) |
| Literacy level of selected women | |
| No formal education | 151 (61.4) |
| No formal education but can sign | 26 (10.6) |
| No formal education but can read and write | 2 (0.8) |
| Less than primary (till 4th standard) | 19 (7.7) |
| Primary but less than secondary (till 9th standard) | 43 (17.5) |
| Secondary (10th standard) and above | 5 (2.1) |
| PDS ration card a | |
| Yellow (AAY) | 153 (62.2) |
| Red (BPL) | 40 (16.3) |
| Do not have | 53 (21.5) |
| Characteristics | Mean (SD) |
| Age of selected women in years Mean ± SD | 26.8 ± 7.87 |
| Number of family members Mean ± SD | 6.1 ± 1.96 |
| Age of the eldest member in the HH in years Mean ± SD | 40.4 ± 13.91 |
| HH wealth index Mean ± SD | |
| Lowest quintile | −2.19 ± 0.74 |
| Lowest middle quintile | −0.8 ± 0.25 |
| Lower middle quintile | 0.02 ± 0.23 |
| Upper middle quintile | 0.81 ± 0.23 |
| Upper most quintile | 1.79 ± 0.39 |
Abbreviations: HOH, head of the household; SD, standard deviation; AAY, Antyodaya Anna Yojana; APL, Above Poverty Line; BPL, Below Poverty Line
PDS refers to Public Distribution system which is an Indian food security scheme under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. In this, major food commodities including staple food grains, such as wheat and/or rice, sugar and kerosene oil (a fuel used for cooking) are distributed through a network of public distribution shops (also known as ration shops) at subsidized prices. Possession of a PDS ration card (an official document entitling the holder to a ration of food) under various categories of poverty, that is, APL , BPL and AAY, a category based on degrees of poverty, entitles the holder to access the food product at highly subsidized rates.