NEW DELHI : The poorest 5% of the country survive on a daily consumption of just Rs 46 per person in rural areas and Rs 67 in urban areas, the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 shows.
The survey, which took place after over a decade, also shows the large gap in consumption between the bottom 5% and the top 5%. The per capita daily consumption for the richest 5% of the population is Rs 350 in rural areas and Rs 700 in urban areas.
According to the survey, the average monthly per capita consumption (in current prices) in rural and urban areas was Rs 3,773 and Rs 6,459 respectively - 2.5 times the monthly consumption recorded in 2011-12. However, much of the growth in monthly consumption over the previous decade is because of inflation. In real term, monthly per capita consumption has grown by only 1.3 times in urban areas and 1.4 times in rural areas.
At 2011-12 prices, the same expenditure stood at Rs 2,008 in rural India and Rs 3,510 in urban India in 2022-23. This analysis, excludes the imputed values of items received free of cost through social welfare programmes.
The bottom 5% of India’s rural population has an average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) of Rs 1,373 while it is Rs 2,001 for the same category of population in the urban areas. The top 5% of India’s rural and urban population has an average MPCE of Rs 10,501 and Rs 20,824, respectively.
Among the states, MPCE is the highest in Sikkim for both rural and urban areas (Rs 7,731 for rural and Rs 12,105 for urban). It is the lowest in Chhattisgarh (Rs 2,466 for rural and Rs 4,483 for urban). The rural-urban difference in average MPCE among the states is the highest in Meghalaya (83%) followed by Chhattisgarh (82%). The last time such a survey was conducted by the National Sample Survey Office was in 2017-18, but the report was junked by the government after the findings indicated a fall in consumer spending.
Average spends
The survey shows that the rural population spends an average of 46% on food items while the same is 39% for urban population
The bottom 5% of India’s rural population, ranked by MPCE, has an average PCE of Rs 1,373 while it is Rs 2,001 for the same category of population in the urban areas
Among UTs, MPCE is highest in Chandigarh (rural Rs 7,467 and urban Rs 12,575), whereas it is the lowest in Ladakh (Rs 4,035) and Lakshadweep (Rs 5,475) for rural & urban areas