Televisions tell you a story: Why Bihar is cutting back on consumption

The first of a two-part series looks at how people in the poll-bound state of Bihar are cutting back on consumption expenditure

Consumption is dwindling in Bihar. You can’t tell that from the plethora of new restaurants in Patna or the number of new motor car showrooms in Purnia, the eastern-most town of the state. But head to the rural and semi-urban areas of Bihar, which is one of India’s poorest states by per capita income, and the reluctance to spend on consumer goods is palpable.

Binda Devi of Simrahi Bazaar in Supaul district is sure that she does not wish to buy a television for her kids. “Woh to aise hi mobile dekhte rahtein hai, TV nahi layenge (they keep watching mobile