How much expenditure on food decreased in cities and villages?
The Ministry of Statistics has released a report on the household expenditure of Indian families. According to this report, the share of food in the monthly expenditure in rural areas was 53 percent in 2011-12, which has now decreased to 46.4 percent. On the other hand, if we talk about urban areas, the share of food here has decreased from 42.6 percent to 39.2 percent during this period. The survey also states that the share of non-food items instead of food has increased from 57.4 percent to 60.8 percent in urban areas, while in rural areas it has increased from 47 percent to 53.6 percent.
More expenditure is being made on travel and transportation
A major change in non-food expenditure is that people are now spending more on transportation (i.e. travel). In urban india, people spend an average of Rs 555 on transport every month, while in rural india this expenditure is Rs 285. Apart from this, rural India spends more on betel, tobacco and intoxicants. In 2022-23, the monthly per capita expenditure on betel, tobacco and intoxicants was Rs 143.
The share of transport in total non-food expenditure in urban india was 10.6 percent in 1999-2000, which has increased to 14.1 percent in 2022-23. At the same time, this share has increased even faster in rural India – from 7.2 percent in 1999-2000 to 14.1 percent.
The expenditure that has increased steadily in rural india in the last two decades has been on consumer clothing such as television, mobile phones, home appliances etc. The share of consumer clothing in total non-food expenditure has increased from 6.5 percent in 1999-2000 to 12.8 percent in 2022-23. Rural india now spends twice as much on entertainment as before.
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