Assam, Bihar households big food spenders in 2023-24, shows NSO data

Among the food items, households in these states spent the highest share on consuming 'beverages & processed food' which includes purchased food items

The monthly per-capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) on food items was highest in Assam (53.2 per cent), followed by Bihar (52.5 per cent), West Bengal (51.5 per cent), and Meghalaya (50.3 per cent) during the period from August 2023 to July 2024, according to the latest report of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday.

 

Among the food items, households in these states spent the highest share on consuming ‘beverages and processed food’, which includes purchased food items such as jam, pickles, and cooked meals. The share in Arunachal Pradesh stood at 15.8 per cent, in Assam it was 12.8 per cent, in Bihar it was 10.46 per cent, and in West Bengal, it was 10.3 per cent.

 

On the other hand, households in rural areas of Kerala (40.32 per cent) and Delhi (40.32 per cent) had the lowest share of MPCE spent on food items. This was followed by Punjab (42.43 per cent) and Maharashtra (42.74 per cent).

 

The share of MPCE spent on cereals, which are an important component of food consumption in India and include items like coarse grains, rice, wheat, and semolina (granulated wheat), was highest in Jharkhand (7.9 per cent). This was followed by Odisha (7.5 per cent), Bihar (6.59 per cent), and West Bengal (6.46 per cent).

 

Meanwhile, in urban areas, the share of food items in MPCE was highest in households in Bihar (48.8 per cent), followed by Goa (47.9 per cent), Assam (47.4 per cent), and Sikkim (46.3 per cent). Here as well, among the food items, the share of MPCE spent on ‘beverages and processed food’ was highest.

 

The share of consumption of cereals in urban areas was recorded highest in Manipur (6.7 per cent), followed by Jharkhand (5.84 per cent) and Bihar (5.76 per cent).

 

At the national level, the proportion of total MPCE spent on food items in rural areas rose slightly to 47.04 per cent, while in urban areas, it stood at 39.7 per cent in the 2023–24 period, up from 46.4 per cent and 39.2 per cent, respectively, in the 2022–23 period. Experts observe that this increase falls within the margin of error and could represent a temporary fluctuation rather than a reversal of trends.

 

Pronab Sen, former chief statistician of India, noted that the NSO conducted two back-to-back consumption expenditure surveys to verify the robustness of methodological changes, and the results are fairly consistent. The variation observed is well within the margin of statistical error.

 

A fact sheet released last month showed that the MPCE in rural areas during the 2023–24 period rose by 9.2 per cent to Rs 4,122, while urban household expenditure rose by 8.3 per cent to Rs 6,996 over the same period. These figures are in nominal terms and exclude the value of items provided free of cost to households under various social welfare programmes.