Poorest of poor survive on Rs 17 a day in villages: NSSO

Poorest of poor in the country survive on barely Rs 17 per day in villages and Rs 23 a day in cities, as per the latest data released by the National Sample Survey Office today.

According to the data, which relates to 2011-12 (July-June), 5% population on the bottom rung had an average monthly per capita expenditure (MCPE) of Rs 521.44 in rural areas and Rs 700.50 in urban areas.

On the other end of the spectrum, top 5% of the population had an MPCE of Rs 4,481 in rural areas and Rs 10,282 in urban areas.

The National Sample Survey Office's (NSSO) 68th round of survey is based on samples consisting of 7,496 villages in rural India and 5,263 urban blocks except some remote areas, during July 2011-June 2012, the release said.

On an average on the all-India basis, MPCE was around Rs 1,430 for rural India and about Rs 2,630 for urban India.

"Thus average urban MPCE was about 84% higher than average rural MPCE for the country as a whole, though there were wide variations in this differential across states," it said.

For the average rural Indian, food accounted for 52.9% of the value of consumption during 2011-12. This included 10.8% for cereals and cereal substitutes, 8% for milk and milk products, 7.9% on beverages, refreshments and processed food, and 6.6% on vegetables, the release said.

Among non-food item categories, fuel and light for household purposes (excluding transportation) accounted for 8%, clothing and footwear 7%, medical expenses 6.7%, education 3.5%, conveyance 4.2%, other consumer services (excluding conveyance) 4%, and consumer durables 4.5%.