For the first time since 1932, India released on Friday a socio-economic and caste census, revealing the widespread poverty and grim living conditions in the country's rural areas.

Based on data collected between 2011 and 2013, the census showed that more than 70 percent of India's 1.2 billion people live in villages. One in three rural families was landless and dependent on manual labor for its livelihood.

In around 75 percent of rural households, the highest-earning member earned less than 5,000 rupees ($79, or 71 euros) per month. Barely one in 10 homes has a refrigerator, the report showed.

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Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the findings will help the government to better channel its welfare spending to benefit those who need help the most.

Although living standards in some Indian cities and towns have improved rapidly in the past two decades, the census - covering nearly 245 million households in India's 640 districts - highlights how many of the poorest states are lagging far behind.

Nearly 107 million rural households are labeled by the government as "deprived," meaning they either live in a single room made of mud and straw, have no earning adult male, or no literate adult member.

Jaitley said Friday's figures are provisional, adding the data will be updated over the next few months.

"This document will help us target groups for support in terms of policy planning," Jaitley told reporters.

el/nz (dpa, AP, AFP, Government of India)