India reportedly has a recorded 4,13,670 number of beggars, with West Bengal alone having over 81,000 beggars, making it the highest in the country.
According to a replay sent to Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State for Social Justice Vijay Sampla, there are 2.2 lakh male and 1.91 lakh female beggars in the country,
West Bengal with 81,244 beggars topped the list followed by 65,835 in Uttar Pradesh, 30,218 in Andhra Pradesh, 29,723 in Bihar and 28,695 in Madhya Pradesh. According to Indian Express report, Assam, Manipur, and West Bengal have more female beggars than their male counterparts.
Union Territories had the least number, with Lakshadweep having only two recorded beggars, followed by Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and the Andaman and Nicobar islands with 19, 22 and 56 beggars respectively.
