{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.022684310018903593, 'fraction_numerical': 0.005671077504725898, 'mean_word_length': 5.4573170731707314, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 1, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Socio-Economic Inequities and Household Sanitation in Rural India: A Comparative Analysis for Three States

There is widespread concern about the socio-economic inequities that disadvantage certain households in rural India. This article focuses on inequities in the context of the shortage of household sanitation. Lack of proper sanitation is a major environmental risk to children’s health and an inconvenience, particularly for women. We undertake a comparative analysis of three states, namely Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and the Punjab. These three states are chosen because they differ significantly in terms of the Human Development Index. We compare the overall shortage of household sanitation in their rural areas and the likelihood of sanitation-related inequities. Empirical analyses, with data for 2007–08, showed that, in respect of both sanitation and sanitation-related inequities, Madhya Pradesh was in the third position, Gujarat did rather better, while Punjab had the best performance. The results could have some useful policy implications.