Discrimination between scheduled and non-scheduled groups in access to basic services in urban India

Access to basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity is a key determinant of an individual's well-being. Nevertheless, access to these services is unequally distributed among different social groups in many countries. India is no exception, with the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) being one of the country's most marginalised and disadvantaged groups. This paper analyses the disparities in access to basic services between scheduled and non-scheduled households, investigates the factors contributing to the unequal access, and suggests policy recommendations. Using data from the National Sample Survey 76th Round, we analyse the access to basic services such as durable housing, improved water and sanitation, and access to electricity. The paper's objectives are (a) to investigate the factors impacting the quality of basic service delivery in urban India separately for scheduled and non-scheduled households and (b) to quantify the discrimination between scheduled and non-scheduled households in urban India concerning access to quality of basic services through computing a comprehensive index and by using the ‘Fairlie decomposition’ approach. The analysis corroborates the finding that systemic discrimination exists between scheduled and non-scheduled households in urban India regarding access to good quality basic services up to an extent of 24%.