This paper presents a comprehensive composite index of shelter deprivation for the rural and urban households in the major states of the Indian Union for a recent period. It combines indicators relating to four dimensions of shelter deprivation: (a) stark houselessness, (b) deprivation with respect to certain basic amenities, (c) deprivation in terms of quality of dwelling structure, and (d) overcrowding within a dwelling structure as well as overcrowding of dwelling structures in a limited space.