Data caveats

Child Wasting

Weight-for-height below −2 SD (WHO Child Growth Standard).

Child Underweight

Weight-for-age below −2 SD (WHO Child Growth Standard).

Child Overweight

Weight-for-height above +2 SD (WHO Child Growth Standard).

Women Underweight (BMI)

BMI below 18.5 kg/m²; excludes pregnant women and women with a birth in the preceding 2 months.

Institutional Births

Covers births in the 5 years before survey.

4+ Antenatal Visits

Covers last birth in 5 years before survey.

C-Section Rate

Diverging scale — both very low and very high rates signal issues.

Health Insurance

Includes government schemes like Ayushman Bharat.

Modern Contraception

Sterilisation, IUD, pill, injectables, condom and other modern methods.

Unmet Need for Family Planning

Women who want to space or limit births but use no method.

Drinking Water

"Improved" per WHO/JMP classification.

Electricity Access

Measures access, not hours of supply.

Iodized Salt

Tested with rapid test kit during household visit.

Women Internet Use

Ever used, not current or regular use.

Men Internet Use

Ever used, not current or regular use.

Women 10+ Yr Schooling

Women age 15–49 with 10+ completed years of schooling.

Pre-school Attendance

Attendance at any time during the school year.

Child Marriage

Retrospective — women 20–24 who married before age 18.

Teen Pregnancy

Women 15–19 who were mothers or pregnant at time of survey.

Menstrual Hygiene

Women 15–24 using sanitary napkins, tampons, or menstrual cups.

Women Owning a Mobile Phone

A phone the woman herself uses, not a shared household phone.

Women with a Bank Account

An account the woman herself uses.

Women Overweight or Obese

BMI 25.0 kg/m² or more; excludes pregnant women and women with a birth in the preceding 2 months.

Women Hypertension

Systolic ≥ 140 or diastolic ≥ 90 mmHg, or on medication.

Women Diabetes

Random blood glucose > 140 mg/dL, or on medication.

Women Tobacco Use

Any form — smoking, chewing, or snuff.

Male Hypertension

Systolic ≥ 140 or diastolic ≥ 90 mmHg, or on medication.

Male Diabetes

Random blood glucose > 140 mg/dL, or on medication.

Male Tobacco Use

Any form — smoking, chewing, or snuff.

Male Alcohol Use

Any consumption, not frequency or quantity.

Population Aged 60+

Household population only; people living in institutions are not surveyed.

Child Wasting

Weight-for-height below −2 SD (WHO Child Growth Standard).

Child Underweight

Weight-for-age below −2 SD (WHO Child Growth Standard).

Child Anaemia

Haemoglobin below 11.0 g/dL for children 6–59 months (WHO threshold).

Women Anaemia

Haemoglobin below 12.0 g/dL for non-pregnant women 15–49 (WHO threshold).

Full Vaccination

Includes card-verified and mother's recall. Many districts rest on 25–49 cases (IIPS prints these in brackets); blank where IIPS withheld the value (under 25).

Institutional Births

Covers births in the 5 years before survey.

Improved Sanitation

"Improved" per WHO/JMP classification.

Clean Cooking Fuel

LPG, biogas, or electric — excludes solid fuels.

Health Insurance

Includes government schemes like Ayushman Bharat.

Drinking Water

"Improved" per WHO/JMP classification.

Electricity Access

Measures access, not hours of supply.

Iodized Salt

Tested with rapid test kit during household visit.

Women Literacy

Completed std 9+ or can read a whole/partial sentence.

Women 10+ Yr Schooling

Women age 15–49 with 10+ completed years of schooling.

Child Marriage

Retrospective — women 20–24 who married before age 18.

Teen Pregnancy

Women 15–19 who were mothers or pregnant at time of survey.

Menstrual Hygiene

Women 15–24 using sanitary napkins, tampons, or menstrual cups.

4+ Antenatal Visits

Covers last birth in 5 years before survey.

C-Section Rate

Diverging scale — both very low and very high rates signal issues.

Exclusive Breastfeeding

Infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed at time of survey. Many districts rest on 25–49 cases (IIPS prints these in brackets); blank where IIPS withheld the value (under 25).

ORS for Diarrhoea

Children with diarrhoea in 2 weeks before survey who received ORS. Many districts rest on 25–49 cases (IIPS prints these in brackets); blank where IIPS withheld the value (under 25).

Male Hypertension

Systolic ≥ 140 or diastolic ≥ 90 mmHg, or on medication.

Male Diabetes

Random blood glucose > 140 mg/dL, or on medication.

Male Tobacco Use

Any form — smoking, chewing, or snuff.

Households

New districts use area-proportional estimates.

Literacy Rate

Denominator is population aged 7+, the Census of India definition. Children under 7 are excluded — dividing by total population instead reads about 10 points low.

Literate Population

A headcount, not a rate — it tracks district size. Counts ages 7+ only.

Children

New districts use area-proportional estimates.

Scheduled Castes

SC lists vary by state — not all communities recognized nationwide.

Scheduled Tribes

ST lists vary by state — not all communities recognized nationwide.

Worker Participation

Includes main and marginal workers.

Cultivators

Includes both owner-farmers and tenant farmers.

Agricultural Laborers

Landless wage workers on others' farms.

Other Workers

Residual category — industry, services, trade, etc.

Sex Ratio

National average ~940; below 900 signals severe imbalance.

Child Sex Ratio (0–6)

Below 900 may indicate sex-selective practices.

Female Literacy Gap

Gap = male literacy rate minus female literacy rate.

Female Work Gap

Includes main and marginal workers.

Marginal Farmers (%)

Holdings below 1 Ha. ~68% of India's holdings are marginal (Ag Census 2015-16).

Agricultural Intensity

Net sown area as share of district area. Excludes forests and wastelands.

Fallow Ratio

Includes current fallow and long-term fallow land.

SC/ST Land Equity Gap

Combines Ag Census land data with Census 2011 SC/ST population shares.

Holdings per 1,000 People

Uses Census 2011 population as denominator.

Cultivated Land per Capita

Uses Census 2011 population as denominator.

Leased Area Share

Informal tenancy widely underreported — most leases are unregistered oral contracts.

Land Gini Coefficient

Calculated from size-class distribution, not individual holdings.

Sowing Efficiency

Net sown ÷ net cultivated. Does not capture multi-cropping.

Uncultivated Ratio

Includes waste, built-up, and waterlogged land within holdings.

Total Bank Credit

Reflects where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Covers occupation-classified credit only (subset of total bank credit). Amounts only — borrower account counts not included.

Agriculture Credit Share

Reflects where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Covers occupation-classified credit only.

Industry Credit Share

Reflects where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Covers occupation-classified credit only.

Personal Loans Share

Reflects where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Covers occupation-classified credit only.

Trade Credit Share

Reflects where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Covers occupation-classified credit only.

Credit Growth (1-Year)

Reflects where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Covers occupation-classified credit only. Districts renamed between Mar 2025 and Mar 2026 may show anomalous growth.

Credit Growth (5-Year)

Reflects where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Covers occupation-classified credit only. Districts renamed between 2021 and 2026 may show anomalous growth.

Credit Trajectory (2015–26)

Nominal credit, not inflation-adjusted. Trends reflect where credit was sanctioned, not utilized. Districts renamed mid-series are stitched across both names.

Credit Growth (11-Year Trend)

Nominal growth — subtract ~5-6% inflation for real terms. The national median (~14%/yr) is the neutral gray midpoint, not zero.

Credit Acceleration

Based on nominal credit trends. A district can be accelerating from a low base or decelerating while still growing fast.

SC/ST Atrocities

Census 2011 population. Low values may reflect under-reporting.

Domestic Violence

Most DV cases filed under IPC 498A, not this SLL act.

Dowry Crimes

Rates based on Census 2011 population.

Drug Crimes (NDPS)

NDPS Act only — excludes alcohol/excise violations.

Cybercrime

Census 2011 population. Urban areas report higher due to better detection.

Environmental Crimes

Census 2011 population. High values reflect enforcement, not pollution levels.

Safety-Relevant Crime Rate

Curated subset — excludes liquor, excise, electricity, gambling violations.

Cases Delayed in Disposal

District courts only. "Delayed" = exceeded prescribed disposal timelines.

Chronic Backlog (5+ Yr)

District courts only. Includes both civil and criminal cases.

Monthly Disposal Ratio

District courts only. Single-month snapshot — seasonal variation possible.

Case Density

District courts only. Reflects urbanization as much as caseload.

Women's Court Cases

District courts only. Based on petitioner gender where recorded.

Cases at Evidence Stage

District courts only. Combines evidence, argument, and judgement stages.

MGNREGA Days per Household

Reflects both rural distress and state implementation capacity.

Food Grain Yield Variability

Coefficient of variation over historical time series. 8 states/UTs excluded.

Infant Mortality Rate (CVI 2021)

Different source and year from NFHS-5. 8 states/UTs excluded (incl. Goa, Delhi).

Total MSMEs

Registered enterprises only — informal sector excluded.

Manufacturing Share

Registered enterprises only. Classified by NIC activity codes.

Small Enterprise Share

Registered enterprises only. "Small" = investment ₹1–10 crore.

Bharatmala Corridor Length

Bharatmala Phase-I corridors as classified by MoRTH, including corridors not yet built. Overlaps National Highway Length and Highway Under Development — a programme classification, not a separate network. Do not sum.

Four-Lane Highway Share

Share of highway with a recorded lane count, not of all highway. Segments marked 2/4-lane count as under four. Blank where the district has no national highway.

Highway Under Development

Sanctioned or proposed corridors. Not road on the ground. Overlaps Bharatmala Corridor Length.

Built-up Area

Tracks district size as much as urbanisation — compare with Built-up Area Share. 2020 is interpolated by GHSL.

Built-up Area Added, 1990–2020

1990 is an observed Landsat epoch; 2020 is interpolated. GHSL built-up never decreases, so this is never negative.

Built-up Growth, 1990–2020

Blank below 1 km² of built-up in 1990, where percentages run to extremes on a tiny base. 2020 is interpolated by GHSL.

Schools

Urban areas only — rural schools not counted.

Banking

Urban areas only — rural branches not counted.

Electrified Track Share

Track kilometres, not route kilometres — yard and siding track counts in the denominator. A 2024 snapshot, so it sits below Indian Railways' later route-kilometre figure, which has kept rising since. Blank where the district has no railway.

Railway Stations

Distinct station codes from the Indian Railways GeoPortal register. Halts and crossing stations count alongside junctions.

Night-light Growth, 2013–2025

Crosses two product changes: stray-light correction from 2014 and V2.1 → V2.2 in 2022. Blank on a tiny 2013 base, where percentages run to extremes.

Share of Tree Cover Lost, 2001–2025

Includes plantation harvest — high shares in plantation districts are not all deforestation. Regrowth is not counted.