National Household Travel Survey

Gist The National Statistics Office NSO has released India's first-ever National Household Travel Survey , providing a comprehensive map of how Indians commute and travel. The data reveals that buses account for more than half of all overnight journeys, outpacing railways, while private two-wheelers dominate daily work commutes. For a civil services aspirant, this empirical data is critical for understanding infrastructure gaps GS Paper III and socio-economic realities like the gender mobility gap and urban-rural divides GS Paper I and II . Background The National Statistics Office NSO operates under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation MoSPI and is responsible for conducting large-scale sample surveys across India. Until this report, India lacked a comprehensive national database mapping household-level travel behavior. Household travel surveys are essential for evidence-based transport planning; they move beyond merely counting tickets sold to capturing the socio-economic factors—such as gender, location, and purpose—that actually dictate mobility patterns. This data forms the baseline for future public transit investments and urban planning. Key Pointers Public vs. Private transport in daily commuting: The heavy reliance on two-wheelers for daily…