What is the state of rural infrastructure in India?

Majority of our people live in rural areas. Despite so much technological progress in the country rural women are still using bio-fuels such as crop residues, dung and fuel-wood to meet their energy requirement. The census 2001 shows that in rural India only 56% households have an electricity connection and 43% still use kerosene. About 90% of the rural households use bio-fuels for cooking. Tap water availability is limited to only 24% rural households. About 76% of the population drink water from open sources such as wells, tanks, ponds, lakes, rivers, canals etc. As per study conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation, by 1996, access to improved sanitation in rural areas was only 6%.