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Composite Backwardness Index: Socio-Economic Profile of Padmashali Community in Telangana



The Padmashali community (also known as Sali, Salivan, Pattusali, Senapathulu, and Thogata Sali) is categorised under Backward Class (BC-B) in Telangana. According to the 2024-2025 Socio-Economic and Caste Survey, they represent 3.3% of the state's total population.

Overall Backwardness Profile

The community is classified as "Less Backward" than the state average. They have a Composite Backwardness Index (CBI) score of 67, which is significantly more developed than the Telangana state average of 81 (where higher scores indicate greater backwardness). Among the 56 major castes in the state, they are positioned towards the least backward end of the spectrum.

Education and Literacy

The Padmashali community demonstrates strong performance across various educational parameters:

  • Higher Education: They rank 10th out of 56 major castes in the share of people attaining a diploma or higher degree, performing better than many other BC groups and even some general category Muslims.
  • Medium of Instruction: They show a high adoption of English-medium education, ranking 11th among major castes, with a significantly higher share than the state average of 47%.
  • Schooling Preferences: Approximately 20% of the community reports studying in state government schools, which is lower than the dependency seen in many SC and ST groups. They also have a moderate-to-high access rate to private schools.
  • Women’s Education: Padmashali women have relatively high educational attainment, with a lower percentage of women having "studied below 10th" compared to the state average.

Economic and Occupational Trends

The community's occupational profile reflects a transition from traditional weaving to modern employment and street-level commerce:

  • Traditional Occupation: While they maintain a history in weaving, the sources note that they have the 3rd highest share of daily wage street vendors among major castes. This suggests that pressures on their traditional occupation have impacted their current employment patterns.
  • Modern Employment: They show moderate success in professional government jobs (rank 16/56) and even stronger representation in professional private sector jobs (rank 13/56).
  • Labour Profile: They have a relatively low proportion of daily wage labourers compared to the state average of 31.3%.

Land and Asset Ownership

Despite their relative development in education, the community faces structural challenges regarding land:

  • Land Ownership Deficit: There is a significant disparity between their population and land ownership. While they comprise 3.3% of the population, they own only 1.7% of the state's total land.
  • Quality of Land: Their share of irrigated land is lower than the state average.
  • Asset Ownership: They rank 12th among 56 major castes for refrigerator ownership and show moderate car ownership levels, indicating better-than-average disposable income among Backward Classes.

Living Conditions

Padmashalis enjoy some of the best living conditions among Backward Classes:

  • Housing Size: They have the 11th highest share of households with more than three rooms, a key indicator of higher living standards.
  • Basic Amenities: The community experiences low levels of deprivation regarding electricity, toilet access, and piped tap water.

The Rural-Urban Divide

Geographically, approximately 58% of the Padmashali population resides in rural areas. A unique finding in the report is their negative rural-urban backwardness gap of -15. This indicates that, statistically, urban Padmashalis are more backward than their rural counterparts, likely due to higher living costs, landlessness, and the precarious nature of urban street vending versus rural weaving or agrarian stability.

Prepare Slide Deck on Padmashali

I have initiated the creation of a slide deck that provides a comprehensive look at the socio-economic standing of the Padmashali community.

The deck will feature insights into their CBI score, their performance in higher education, the transition from traditional weaving to other occupations, and the specific disparities they face in land ownership. It also highlights the unique rural-urban backwardness gap found within the community.

You will be able to find the completed slide deck in the Studio tab shortly. Please note that it can take up to 10 minutes for the generation process to finish.

What is the CBI score for Padmashalis?

The CBI score for the Padmashali community (referred to in the sources as Padmasali) is 67.

According to the sources, this score indicates the following:

  • Relative Development: Padmashalis are categorised as less backward than the state average, as their score of 67 is lower than the weighted state average CBI score of 81. In this framework, a lower CBI score reflects a higher level of development and prosperity relative to other groups.
  • Caste Categorisation: They belong to the Backward Class (BC-B) category.
  • Population Share: The community accounts for approximately 3.3% of the total population of Telangana, with a reported population of 11,82,252.
  • Rural-Urban Gap: There is a negative rural-urban backwardness gap of -15 for this community, meaning that urban members are statistically more backward than those living in rural areas.
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