Question

According to the All India Debt and Indebtedness Survey- 2019 Report, what percentage of cultivator households in rural areas were indebted as on 30th June, 2018?

• A. 40.3%
• B. 28.2%
• C. 20.6%
• D. 22.4%

Hint:

Recall that ~40% of rural cultivator households were indebted in 2018 per AIDIS 2019—highlights the credit dependency in agriculture.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The All India Debt and Indebtedness Survey (AIDIS) 2019, conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), reported that 40.3% of cultivator households in rural India were indebted as of June 30, 2018. This figure reflects the significant reliance of rural agricultural households on credit, often due to irregular income, high input costs, and limited access to formal banking. The other options (28.2%, 20.6%, 22.4%) do not match the survey’s findings, making option (1) correct.

Answer 2

Elimination by scale of the figure:
The AIDIS 2019 report is well known for highlighting that a substantial proportion, over two-fifths, of rural cultivator households carried debt as of mid-2018. Among the given figures, 20.6% and 22.4% are too low to match the report's widely cited headline finding of roughly 40 percent, and 28.2% likewise falls short of the report's stated proportion for cultivator households specifically.
Only 40.3% aligns with the AIDIS 2019 headline statistic for rural cultivator household indebtedness.
Therefore, option (1) is correct.