2.3. Independent variables

The sociodemographic variables used in this study are age group (45–59 years and ≥60 years), sex (male/female), residence location (rural or urban), educational attainment (less than ten years of schooling or more than or equal to ten years of schooling) and caste (categorised as scheduled caste (SC) or scheduled tribe (ST), other backward classes (OBC), and forward castes). Respondents were classified as poorest, poor, middle, rich, and richest based on the Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE).¹³ States and union territories were categorised into six regions (North, Central, East, Northeast, West, and South).