Consumption survey: Nodefinitive trend yet

The monthly per capita expenditure data points to shifts in but it should not be used for reconfiguring consumption, the Consumer Price Index

The Survey on household consumption expenditure has long been expected after being delayed due to the pandemic. The results of the monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) of households are interesting, as they shed some light on the state of the rural and urban economies and allow for some broader thinking.

The Survey shows that the gap between per capita monthly consumption expenditure between the rural and urban populations has narrowed, which is a positive sign, as this is the way to go when it comes to ensuring broad-based growth. Here, the Survey provides two sets of numbers, one referring to standalone expenditure of households and the other with imputed expenditure when the free support goods and services provided by the state are included. Hence, there is a lot of transparency here. But surprisingly, the difference between the two estimates for 2022-23 is 97 in rural areas and ₹62 in urban areas. These numbers could be on the lower side given that MADAN SABNAVIS the free food scheme involves five kilos of cereals, which have a minimum support price of above ₹20/kilo. Add to this the free liquefied petroleum gas cylinders and power provided by various levels of government, and the difference should have been much higher.

The Survey points out that the growth in rural consumption based on the per capita numbers has been higher over the last decade for which comparison is provided. It was 2.69 times for rural India, compared to 2.47 for urban India based on the imputed numbers.