Inequality in the world has many dimensions. Each dimension has its own story. Some countries are worse in one dimension whereas better in others. There are
inequalities in the distribution of wealth, in access to education, and in political voice. These inequalities have been partially responsible for the slow growth in
the country. Inequality in India has been the topic of debate in development circles since independence. Inequalities in the distribution of wealth and ownership of assets in rural India have witnessed an unprecedented rise since the 1990s with the introduction of new economic reforms. One of the main reasons for income inequality has been the stagnation of employment in both rural and urban areas across states. On the one hand, during the post-reform period, unemployment rates increased in the agriculture sector in most parts of India. On the other hand, the services sector performed relatively better, but this sector absorbed only a very small portion of the labour force. Punjab is an agrarian economy. More than two third of Punjab population lives in rural areas and mostly depends on agricultural sector. Many in Punjab have a lack of access to education, health care, sanitation, and other valuable facilities. Agricultural structure of the economy of Punjab is mainly influenced from the factors such as distribution of land holdings, production and contribution to GSDP. Agricultural land is the most important asset in terms of its share in total assets in rural Punjab. But, it is highly unequal distributed across the farm and non-farm households. Moreover, the process of transformation of Punjab agriculture from a traditional to a modern has brought in its wake new opportunities for investment in agriculture because of the high rate of return to such investment. While, ushering in rapid agriculture growth, the green revolution has given rise to problems arising out the distribution of its benefits. After the green revolution, big farmers have gained considerably from new technology, which has resulted in increasing income inequalities between large and marginal farmers. The Green Revolution heartland i.e. Punjab has been passing through the multi-dimensional crisis and suffering from the socio
economic inequalities, high rate of unemployment, low-wage rate, rampant drug addiction, and low job opportunities. Indeed, rising socio-economic inequalities
are matter of grave concern in India, particularly in Punjab. There is hardly any comprehensive empirical study dealing with all the aspects of inequalities. In the present study, an endeavour has been made to analyse the socio-economic inequalities among farm and non-farm rural households in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab.