Per capita monthly household consumption expenditure more than doubled from 2011-12 to 2022-23: Govt survey

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has released the findings of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) conducted from August 2022 to July 2023.

The survey aimed to generate estimates of Household Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) across rural and urban sectors, states, union territories, and socio-economic groups.

According to the survey results, the per capita monthly household consumption expenditure has more than doubled from 2011-12 to 2022-23. The survey estimates average rural consumer spending rose to ₹3,773 a month per person for the 12 months through July from ₹1,430 in the previous survey in 2011-2012, while urban spending rose to ₹6,459 rupees from ₹2,630.

The data, collected from 2,61,746 households spread across rural and urban areas of states and union territories, revealed significant growth in consumption patterns over the past decade.

Key findings

The bottom 5% of India’s rural population, ranked by MPCE, has an average MPCE of ₹1,441 while it is ₹2,087 in the urban areas.

The top 5% of India’s rural and urban population, ranked by MPCE, has an average MPCE of ₹10,581 and ₹20,846, respectively.

Among the states, MPCE is the highest in Sikkim (Rural – ₹7,787 and Urban – ₹12,125) and it is the lowest in Chhattisgarh (Rural – ₹2,575, Urban – ₹4,557).

The rural-urban difference in average MPCE among the states is the highest in Meghalaya (83%) followed by Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand (77%).

Among the UTs, MPCE is the highest in Chandigarh (Rural – ₹7,467 and Urban – ₹12,577), whereas, it is the lowest in Ladakh (₹ 4,062) and Lakshadweep (₹5,511) for rural and urban areas, respectively.

In the HCES 2022-23, the usual practice of imputation of consumption values for items such as home-grown produce, gifts, loans, and goods received through social welfare programs continued. This allowed for the estimation of MPCE, which is crucial for understanding household expenditure trends.

The survey incorporated information on the quantity of consumption for various items received free of cost through social welfare programs. These items included food items like rice, wheat, pulses, and non-food items like electronic gadgets, clothing, and footwear. Imputed values for these items were also considered in the estimation of MPCE, providing a comprehensive picture of household consumption patterns.

The new survey will form the basis of a review of India's consumer price inflation index.

The detailed report of the survey will be released subsequently, but the summary results are available on the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's website.