BHARAT IS CATCHING UP WITH INDIA

Despite a nearly seven per cent growth projected for India this fiscal and the next, economists often quoted slackness in rural income and consumption as a stumbling block to prosperity.

- M.G. Arun

But a new set of data put out by the Centre on February 24 has brought some cheer on that front.

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) after a gap of 11 years, suggests that the spending on goods and services by rural Indians has risen at a faster pace than that in urban areas. Expressed as the average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE), it shot up by 62 per cent in rural areas-from Rs 1,430 in 2011-12 to Rs 3,773 in 2022-23, as compared to a 59 per cent rise in urban centresfrom Rs 2,630 to Rs 6,459. The survey, which covered 261,746 households across 8,723 villages and 6,115 urban blocks spread across the country, is useful in understanding the consumption and expenditure pattern of Indians, their standard of living and wellbeing. A similar survey was conducted in 2017-18 as well, but the results were junked by the Centre, citing issues in the quality of data collected.