THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala ranks third among major states in indebtedness, with nearly three in every ten adults in debt, says a new study published by the National Statistics Office.

While Kerala had an indebtedness of 29.9%, Andhra Pradesh topped the list at 43.7%, followed by Telangana (37.2%), according to the report titled ‘Financial Inclusion and Indebtedness in India: Insights from NSS 78th Round’ authored by Binod Bihari Jena and Rabinarayan Patra. The national average was 14.7%.

Among the major states, the study reported the highest level of financial inclusion in Karnataka (95.9%), followed by Andhra Pradesh (92.3%) and Tamil Nadu (92%). Chhattisgarh stood fourth, at 91.1%, and Kerala fifth, at 91.0%.

Among the six regions of India, the level of financial inclusion and indebtedness was highest in the south, at 92.1% and 31.8% respectively. The least was in the north-east region, at 80.2% and 7.4%.

Good debt or bad debt?

The report said there exists a direct relationship between indebtedness and household economic status and inverse relationship between indebtedness and household size. Nationally, indebtedness was 9.3% for first quartile households and 18% for fourth quartile households.