Useful Statistics | UPSC Mains Answer Writing: Practice PDF Download

Note: Aspirants should note that the following list of statistics is not exhaustive but merely indicative. I am including them to give an idea about data in important sectors that aspirants may use in answers to strengthen their arguments. Use them as per the demand of the question. It must be noted that the data is bound to change with time. Also the exact figure might differ from report to report. Though I have done my best to make it accurate, aspirants are requested to cross check and use their best judgement.

EDUCATION

Higher Education

• QS Higher Education rankings: In top 500, China has 22 universities, India has 9
• GER of 25% in Higher education. South Korea: 93%
• No Indian university in the top 300 in World University Rankings 2020, published by Times Higher Education.

Primary Education

• ASER(2019) : At least 25% of school children in the four-eight age group do not have age-appropriate cognitive and numeracy skills.
• Just 37% of children below six are able to recognise at least letters and only 25.6% can do additions, according to the report.
• Similarly, only 34.8% of children in Class II can read a text meant for the level below.
• Govt expenditure on Education : less than 4% of GDP; Target- 6% Gender Gap in Literacy: 80.9% for men and 64.60% for women

JUDICIARY

• Total pendency: Around 3 crore cases In Supreme Court alone - 65000 cases
• 85% cases take 10-12 yrs (DAKSH report)
• Currently we have 18 judges per 10 lakh population; Recommended: 50 judges per every 10 lakh
• 20% vacancies in lower courts

RTI

• Around 50 Lakh applications per annum
• 1% of electorate uses RTI every year
• At least 2% used the law

URBANISATION

• Currently it's 31% of population live in urban areas; 
• By 2050, the figure is estimated to be 70%
• Urban areas contribute around 60-65% of GDP

CORRUPTION

Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International - India ranked 78th out of 180 countries

JAN DHAN

• Beneficiary Accounts - 35 cr 
• Deposits - 1 Lakh Crore 
• Rupay Debit Cards - 28 cr
• Over 50 per cent of the Jan-Dhan account holders are women

UNEMPLOYMENT & SKILLING

• Informal sector : More than 85-90% workforce is informal Less than 5% rural youth are skilled
• 65% of the country comes under working age population (15-59) 50% of the population is less than 25yrs
• Employment increased at a CAGR of 3.3% over a four-year period from 2014-15 to 2018-19 compared with a CAGR of 7.5% in gross domestic product (GDP) during this period.
• 10 million enter workforce every year for the next decade

FOOD PROCESSING

• 100% FDI in automatic route
• Potential to create 9 million jobs by 2024
• India’s huge potential: 300 million tonnes of annual food grain production; 7200km coast line
• India ranks second in the world in food and vegetable production. Only 2.2% of these are processed, compared to 65% in US, 78% in the Philippines.
• Nearly 40% of the food produced in India is wasted or lost.

DISASTER

World Bank estimates loss due to natural disasters is : $900B per year Vulnerability statistics for India: 65% is prone to drought; 5% - flood; 59% - seismic hazard; 8% - cyclones

POVERTY

• Around 22% of the population is below poverty line
• 138 million exited poverty 2005 - 2013 (BPL percentage reduced from 37% to 22%)
• More than 3 Lakh farmers committed suicide in last two decades

INEQUALITY

• 1% owns 58% wealth (oxfam)
• India: 8 billionaires hold same wealth as the poorest 50% World: Top 8% own 85% of global wealth
• India is among the countries with highest no. of billionaires
• 63 richest persons in India hold wealth higher than Union Budget of 2018-19

HEALTH

• HDI : 129th/189 countries MMR: 122 per 1 lakh live births IMR: 33 per 1000 live births
• 51% of Indian women are anaemic
• Around 70% of healthcare delivery is owned by private sector, which has led to a high out-of-pocket expenditure of 67 percent.
• 43% of Under 5 children are underweight, 58% are stunted
• India spends 1.2% of GDP on health; WHO recommends 5% of GDP for better health outcomes
• Number of doctors— 0.7 per 1000 population; WHO recommends at least 2 per 1000 population
• Global Hunger Index: IN 2019, India ranked 102 out of 117 countries

R&D,SCIENCE,INNOVATION

Science, Technology and Innovation Policy of India targeted expenditure of 2.5%

Currently India spends 0.6% of GDP on R&D, China - 2.1% of GDP, South Korea - 4.2% of GDP

Global Innovation Index Rank- 52nd /129 countries

ECONOMY

• India GDP : $2.9 Trillion [Nominal]
• GDP per capita : $2172 per person [Nominal]

PARLIAMENT

• ADR Report: 43% of Lok Sabha MPs have criminal record 83% of MPs are crorepatis
• More than 85% of funds - less than ₹20000(anonymous)
• Women’s representation has steadily increased in the Lok Sabha. In the first-ever election, only 5% of the House consisted of women.
• Now, that has increased to 14%.
• Gender Gap Index: India ranked 112th out of 153 countries (WEF)

NGOs

• 31 Lakh NGOs
• 3000 NGOs got over ₹22000cr 
• Only 10% filed annual returns

JUVENILE JUSTICE

• NCRB : 1.2% of total serious crimes by juveniles

DIGITAL INDIA

• Mobile users : 120 crore mobile subscriptions Internet users : 45 crores monthly active users
• [Digital Divide] Rural-Urban: Internet penetration in urban India is about 64%; it’s 20% in villages
• Gender divide: 50% all Indian men have a mobile phone, fewer than one in three women have one.