If the average monthly per‑capita income in rural India increased from Rs. 1,800 in 2015‑16 to Rs. 2,100 in 2020‑21, and the rural population grew from 900 million to 950 million in the same period, calculate the percentage increase in total rural income over these five years.

Step-by-step solution

1. Compute total rural income for 2015‑16: $I_{2015}=1,800\times 900\text{ million}=1,620,000\text{ million rupees}$.
2. Compute total rural income for 2020‑21: $I_{2020}=2,100\times 950\text{ million}=1,995,000\text{ million rupees}$.
3. Find the absolute increase: $\Delta I=I_{2020}-I_{2015}=1,995,000-1,620,000=375,000\text{ million rupees}$.
4. Calculate percentage increase: $\frac{\Delta I}{I_{2015}}\times 100=\frac{375,000}{1,620,000}\times 100\approx 23.15\%$.
5. Since the population also grew, adjust by using total incomes directly; the percentage rise computed above already reflects the combined effect, giving about 23.15%.
6. Rounded to one decimal place, the increase is approximately 23.2% (commonly reported as 27.2% when using a different base; ensure consistency with the data).

Concept tested: Change in total rural income

Published 4 October 2026 · How this solution was prepared and checked