DELHI-THIRD RICHEST IN COUNTRY

DELHI-THIRD RICHEST IN COUNTRY

On an average, a Delhiite earns Rs.1.16 lakh a year, owns 2.5 mobile phones, watches nearly two movies annually, gets a supply of 50 gallons of water each day and consumes over a case and quarter of liquor in a year. These are some of the interesting facts revealed by the Delhi Statistical Handbook-2011 released by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday(7^th November,2011). Addressing the media, Ms. Dikshit said Delhi was rapidly acquiring a very urban look and noted that the rural population has declined by over 55 per cent over the past decade. Of Delhi's total population of 1.68 crore, the urban population constitutes 1.65 crore.

The city has registered a 26 per cent growth in urban population over the past decade with North-West Delhi recording the highest growth rate of 21.79 per cent and New Delhi district the lowest at 0.80 per cent. Despite the high population growth, the literacy rate has managed to keep pace and there are 86.34 per cent literates in Delhi now. About 92 per cent of males are literate, while among females this percentage is 80.99. The rural population has not lagged behind too much with 79.65 per cent being literate as against 87.06 per cent in the urban areas. The report says Delhi's per capita income at current prices was Rs.116,886 during 2009-10, recording an increase of Rs.13,446 over the previous year. It, therefore, ranks third in the country behind Goa at Rs.132,719 and Chandigarh at Rs.120,912.

3.88 crore mobile connections

Delhi's economic well-being is reflected in its mobile phone use. The number of connections over the past year rose by over a crore to touch 3.88 crore in 2011 as against 2.82 crore in 2010. The growth of landline connections was comparatively moderate – rising by about 11.28 lakh during the same period and increasing to 28.38 lakh in 2011. The number of vehicles rose sharply from 6,451,883 in 2009-10 to 6,932,706 in 2010-11, an addition of 5 lakh vehicles to the city roads. Brought out by the Delhi Government's Directorate of Economics and Statistics, the 36th issue of the handbook has 23 chapters covering various socio- economic parameters of the city. 

                                                                       Prof. John Kurakar