Parul
India’s average household spending on food has fallen to less than half for the first time since 1947, according to a recent paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The paper titled ‘Changes in India’s Food Consumption and Policy Implications: A Comprehensive Analysis of Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 and 2011-12 further said significant changes are unfolding in India’s food consumption pattern.
Spending on food
According to the paper, the share of total household expenditure on food has declined substantially in rural and urban areas across all states and UTs.
“It is the first time in post-independence India that average household spending on food is less than half the overall monthly spending of households and is a marker of significant progress,” it said. The paper is a comprehensive analysis of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022–23 and comparison with 2011–12.
“Overall, there has been a significant increase in households’ average monthly per capita expenditure across rural and urban India across all states and UTs,” the paper said, adding that the magnitude of the rise is substantial but varies across states and regions. For example, the paper said among rural areas, West Bengal has seen a consumption expenditure growth of 151 per cent in the period between 2011-12 and 2022-23, while Tamil Nadu witnessed a growth of approximately 214 per cent. Sikkim witnessed a growth of massive 394 per cent. “Overall, we find that growth for rural households was higher than for urban households, 164 per cent for rural households versus 146 per cent for urban households,” it said.
