A recent survey, the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23, unveiled an alarming trend of increased expenditure on paan, tobacco, and intoxicants over the last decade. The findings reveal that both rural and urban households are allocating a larger portion of their income to these products.
In rural areas, the expenditure on such items rose from 3.21% in 2011-12 to 3.79% in 2022-23. Similarly, urban areas witnessed an increase from 1.61% to 2.43% during the same period.
Conversely, spending on education witnessed a decline, with urban areas seeing a drop from 6.90% in 2011-12 to 5.78% in 2022-23, and rural areas decreasing from 3.49% to 3.30%.
The survey, conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), aims to gauge each household’s Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) and its distribution across rural and urban sectors, states, Union Territories, and various socio-economic groups.
Moreover, the survey highlights an increase in spending on beverages and processed food, with urban areas experiencing a rise from 8.98% to 10.64% and rural areas from 7.90% to 9.62%.
Expenditure on conveyance also surged, with urban areas witnessing an increase from 6.52% to 8.59% and rural areas from 4.20% to 7.55%.
The study indicates a significant rise in MPCE over the decade, doubling in urban areas to Rs 6,459 in 2022-23 from Rs 2,630 in 2011-12 and in rural areas to Rs 3,773 from Rs 1,430.
These estimates are based on data collected from 261,746 households across all states, Union Territories, and urban and rural areas. The survey applies imputation techniques to account for consumption of out-of-home-grown/home-produced stock and other factors, thereby generating MPCE estimates.
