Working Paper No.: WP 136 Coverage and Nonresponse Bias in

The difference in the characteristics between the respondents and nonrespondents is most pronounced in the context of the area of residence. [...] We used other available data sources to compare the characteristics of the included and excluded units in the sampling frame as well as the respondents and nonrespondents of the survey. [...] Among the nonrespondents, the proportion of households residing in Delhi and other urban areas of the districts in NCR belonging to the Muslim religion, Forward caste, and the richest wealth quintile are significantly higher as compared to the respondents. [...] However, in the context of studying the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdown in the target population, the characteristics of drop-outs in DCVTS-1 do not suggest exclusion of vulnerable groups, except among the Muslim community. [...] Among the excluded households, the proportion of households residing in the NCR part of Haryana and belonging to the poorest wealth quintile was significantly higher as compared to the group of households included in the sampling frame.