For the first time in some 11 years, the government has come out with Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, which was conducted during August 2022 to July 2023 mainly to find out household Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) estimates. The survey sheds some important light on evolution of consumption patterns in India, highlighting how changes have occurred in rural and urban sectors in this regard.

Interestingly, the survey finds that difference between rural and urban MPCE as a percentage of rural MPCE, declined to 71% in 2022-23 from 84% in 2011-12 and more than 90% in 2004-05. In other words, the poorest rural households have now been consuming more goods and services than they did in the past and this reflects, as the survey points out, “that the government's policy initiatives for enhancing rural incomes have worked to an extent”.

Another key finding is that share of food has been declining for both urban and rural households as their preferences have changed with rising incomes, but both segments are spending more on better nutrition – a welcome trend for a protein deficient country like India. Also, it is encouraging that both urban and rural households have been spending more on consumer services, durable goods and entertainment.