#OpenDataApps - Visualization of Percentage of Person Below Poverty Line by State

I am gearing up to participate in OpenDataApps challenge. Since the challenge is open to team participation, there could be no better place to find like minded individual than colleagues at ThoughtWorks. To generate some buzz and curiosity about the event, I did a quick visualization based on the official poverty line estimates in India using the data from data.gov.in website.


There are some straight forward observations one can make from the above choropleth. These are -

1.  The big red patch running through the central India, or otherwise called the BIMARU states. Though the official definition includes Bihar, MP, Rajasthan and UP, but I feel Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa should also be included in this.
2. The southern states like TN, Kerala and Goa are very well todo with less than 20% of population below poverty line.
3. The other chunk of prosperity is in the Northern Indian states of J&K, HP, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhan and Delhi.

The visualization is in such a stark contrast of what I recently came to know of ancient India through John Keay's amazing book - India: A History. The BC era of ancient India was mainly concentrated around the Ganges in the present day states of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and WB.  Whereas these were once the thriving plains of human civilization, they are home to the masses of India who cannot afford the basic necessities of life.