According to data from Shamika Ravi, member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), vehicle ownership among India's poorest households has increased sharply over the past decade. The data shows a notable increase in vehicle ownership among the bottom 20 percent of the population from fiscal year 2011-12 (FY12) to fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23).

In fiscal year 2012, only 6 percent of India's poorest households owned a vehicle. In fiscal year 2023, that number rose to 40 percent, Ravi revealed in a post on X, formerly Twitter. In addition to the national data, Ravi also provided insights into the trends in individual states.

Punjab led the rise in car ownership among the rural poor, rising from 15.5 percent in fiscal year 2012 to 62.5 percent in fiscal year 2023. The increase was even greater among the state's poorest urban households, from 14 percent to 65.7 percent over the same period.

The last 10 years have been economically remarkable for the poorest 20% of India's population. Here is an important indicator: the proportion of the poorest households that owned a vehicle (motorcycle/scooter, car/jeep)-
2011-12: 6%
2022-23: 40%
The growth at the state level is even more fascinating! pic.twitter.com/rsX7FEUBST

— Prof. Shamika Ravi (@ShamikaRavi) 22 August 2024

This was closely followed by Karnataka, where the car ownership rate in rural areas rose from 3.3 percent to 56.6 percent within 11 years. A similar trend was observed in urban areas of Karnataka, where the car ownership rate rose from 11.1 percent to 61.3 percent.

There was also a significant increase in rural Maharashtra: in the poorest households, car ownership rose from 4.1 percent to 45.1 percent.

However, India's eastern states recorded lower growth. In Assam, the proportion of rural poor owning a car rose from less than one percent to 9.6 percent, while in urban areas it increased from one percent to 15.2 percent. In Bihar's poorest rural areas, the proportion rose from 1.8 percent to 19.1 percent, while in urban areas it increased from 6.1 percent to 16.8 percent. West Bengal, meanwhile, reported growth from less than one percent to 11.3 percent in rural areas and from one percent to 15.2 percent in urban regions. For the purposes of the data, vehicles are defined as cars, jeeps, motorcycles and scooters.