India's 16 prosperous states

Punjab is India’s most prosperous state, says a study by Crisil.

Crisil has released The Prosperity Index and the Equality Index – which measures living standards across India’s large states.

The Index has been developed using census data on the ownership pattern of consumer durables such as television, mobile phone, bicycles, computer/laptop and automobiles. (Financial assets, housing, education and health parameters, which are also used to measure standard of living, have not been considered here).

Though Maharashtra has 30 per cent more real income per person, Punjab has more widespread ownership of consumer durables, resulting in more prosperity, says the Crisil study.

Take a look at India's 16 prosperous states...

Punjab

Rank: 1
Prosperity Index: 100
Equality Index: 97.3

Punjab has the highest proportion of households (10%) with all assets (all durables including a computer) and the lowest proportion (4.4%) of households with none of the assets - not even a mobile or a bicycle.

Punjab ranks 7th in per-person real income, but has the highest asset ownership levels.

Thanks to its booming agriculture sector, Punjab has an equitable distribution of prosperity.

Click NEXT to find out how other states score on the prosperity and equality index...

Kerala

Rank: 2
Prosperity Index: 98.5
Equality Index: 99.2

Kerala ranks second in terms of asset ownership levels. 

The state also have the least disparity in asset ownership between their capital cities and the rest of the state.

Kerala too has a high equality in standard of living. Remittances from abroad has ensured high asset ownership throughout Kerala, in addition to revenue from agriculture and tourism, which benefit a majority of the population, says the Crisil study.

(Equality Index measures the differences in living standard between a capital city and the rest of the state. The lower the difference between a capital city and the rest of the state with households having all or no asset, the higher is the state equality index.)

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Haryana

Rank: 3
Prosperity Index: 94.9
Equality Index: 82.6

Haryana has benefited from the boom in the services sector.

While most of the state has benefited from agriculture, a rise in real estate prices has benefited people in Gurgaon, resulting in high intra-state inequality, says the Crisil study.

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Karnataka

Rank: 4
Prosperity Index: 89.7
Equality Index: 77.1

Karnataka is among the toppers backed by the high growth of financial and IT/ITeS. As result, Bangalore, the state capital has a high standard of living. 

Though the IT sector has benefited the skilled workforce in Bangalore, it has resulted in high disparity in living standards among people across the state.

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Tamil Nadu

Rank: 5
Prosperity Index: 85.2
Equality Index: 80.0

When it comes to assets in Tamil Nadu, the proportion of households having no assets is biased due to free distribution of certain assets by state governments, says Crisil. 

Among capital cities, more than 1 in 5 households in Chennai own all major durables including a laptop or a computer

Tamil Nadu ranks 4th in per capita income. 

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Gujarat

Rank: 6
Prosperity Index: 85.2
Equality Index: 85.4

Gujarat is among the richest states with high ownership of household assets. 

Gujarat falls in the category of ‘High prosperity and high equality’ states.

It has the ideal position with high levels of asset ownership throughout the state.

There is not much disparity in standard of living within the state and also that the average standard of living is high, says the Crisil study.

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Maharashtra

Rank: 7
Prosperity Index: 85.2
Equality Index: 81.7

Interestingly among all capital cities, the proportion of households having none of the assets is the lowest in Mumbai (2.2%). 

Outside Mumbai, 19.4 per cent of households in Maharashtra do not own any asset at all.

While 19 per cent of households have no assets in Maharashtra, only 4.8 per cent in Kerala have no assets at all.

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Andhra Pradesh

Rank: 8
Prosperity Index: 83.8
Equality Index: 75.7

There is a high disparity in living standards within Andhra Pradesh. 

While only 1 in every 33 households in Hyderabad doesn’t own a durable, 1 in 5 outside Hyderabad does not have an asset, says Crisil. 

Andhra Pradesh’s growth have been fuelled by financial, IT/ITeS services that have benefited only the skilled labour force resulting wide spread inequality.

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Rajasthan

Rank: 9
Prosperity Index: 82.0
Equality Index: 84.5

Rajasthan falls in the ‘low prosperity and low equality’ category.

Rajasthan is among states where households in the capital city, Jaipur have high asset ownership but majority of the population have a very low standard of living.

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Jharkhand

Rank: 10
Prosperity Index: 81.9
Equality Index: 89.8

Jharkhand is among states with ‘low prosperity and high equality’.

A majority of households – both in the capital city as well as elsewhere – have a low standard of living as measured by asset ownership.

Agriculture, industry or services is not well-established. The state also lags in infrastructure such as power and road connectivity.

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Uttar Pradesh

Rank: 11
Prosperity Index: 81.9
Equality Index: 87.5

Uttar Pradesh falls in the category of ‘low prosperity and high equality’.

A majority of households – both in the capital city, Lucknow and other cities have a low standard of living as measured by asset ownership.

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West Bengal

Rank: 12
Prosperity Index: 79.9
Equality Index: 79.0

West Bengal is among states with ‘low prosperity and low equality’.

Though households in the capital city, Kolkata have high asset ownership, a majority of the population elsewhere have a very low standard of living with a significant proportion not owning any asset all, says Crisil.

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Odisha

Rank: 13
Prosperity Index: 77.5
Equality Index: 83.9

Orissa falls in the category of ‘Low prosperity and low equality’.

Here households in the capital city, Bhubaneswar have high asset ownership but majority elsewhere have a very low standard of living.

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Bihar

Rank: 14
Prosperity Index: 76.9
Equality Index: 91.7

One of India’s fastest growing states, Bihar falls in the ‘Low prosperity and high equality’ category.

A majority of households – both in the capital city as well as elsewhere – have a low standard of living as measured by asset ownership, states the Crisil study.

In terms of asset ownership, Patna is ranked worst as it has the highest proportion of households with none of the assets (around 1 in 4 households).

It also accounts for the lowest proportion of households with all the assets (less than 1 in 16 households).

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Chhattisgarh

Rank: 15
Prosperity Index: 76.1
Equality Index: 92.9

Chhattisgarh is among ‘Low prosperity and high equality’ category states.

Around 4.6 per cent of households in Raipur and 2.2 per cent of households in the rest of the state own all the assets, states the Crisil study.

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Madhya Pradesh

Rank: 16
Prosperity Index: 70.9
Equality Index: 76.8

Madhya Pradesh falls in the category of ‘low prosperity and low equality’ states.

Here, households in the capital city, Bhopal  have high asset ownership but majority elsewhere have a very low standard of living.

In Madhya Pradesh, the proportion of households in Bhopal owning all assets (15%)

is similar to that in Mumbai, but, at the same time, as high as a third of households outside Bhopal do not own any asset at all.

There is large disparity in living standards among households in Bhopal, as well as between Bhopal and the rest of the state.