How the lives of India's poorest improved in the last 10 years

About 10 years ago, less than one in 10 of India’s poorest rural households owned a bike or a car; now close to half do. Fridges, too, have seen a jump while mobile phones are nearuniversal. It all points to a narrowing gap between rich and poor when it comes to the ownership of key assets

Almost half of the bottom 40% households in villages own a bike or car, the share being much higher in cities. The