Despite the UPA government’s rural job guarantee scheme which pays higher than farm wages, the poorest of the poor in villages survive on barely Rs 17 a day while their urban counterparts get to manage with a poor Rs 23 per day, says the latest data released by the National Sample Survey Office.
The NSSO data for the period July 2011-June 2012, says 5 percent of the population on the bottom rung had an average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of Rs 521.44 in rural areas while this was Rs 700.50 in urban areas. On the other end of the spectrum, top 5 percent of the population had an monthly per capita expenditure of Rs 4,481 in rural areas and Rs 10,282 in urban areas. The 68th round of the NSSO survey is based on samples consisting of 7,496 villages in and 5,263 urban blocks except some remote areas, during July 2011–June 2012, the release said. On an average on the national basis, the MPCE was around Rs 1,430 for rural India and about Rs 2,630 for urban India. "Thus average urban MPCE was about 84 per cent 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 per cent of the value of consumption during 2011-12. This included 10.8 percent for cereals and cereal substitutes, 8 percent for milk and milk products, 7.9 percent on beverages, refreshments and processed food, and 6.6 percent on vegetables, the release said. Among non-food item categories, fuel and light for household purposes (excluding transportation) accounted for 8 percent, clothing and footwear 7 percent, medical expenses 6.7 percent, education 3.5 percent, conveyance 4.2 percent, other consumer services (excluding conveyance) 4 percent, and consumer durables 4.5 percent.
For the average urban citizen, 42.6 percent of the value of household consumption accounted for food, including 9 percent for beverages, refreshments and processed food, 7 percent for milk and milk products, and 6.7 percent for cereals and cereal substitutes. Education accounts for 6.9 percent, fuel and light 6.7 percent, conveyance 6.5 percent, and clothing and footwear 6.4 percent. The NSSO consumer expenditure survey aims at generating estimates of household and its distribution, separately for states and other socioeconomic groups. The survey said only about 10 percent of the rural population reported household MPCE above Rs 2,296 and merely 5 percent above Rs 2,886. It also said only about 10 percent of the urban population reported household MPCE above Rs 4,610 and merely 5 percent reported MPCE above Rs 6,383. At the national level, average wage was Rs 396 a day which was Rs 299 in rural areas and Rs 450 in urban areas, it said.
The data is amongst the most important measures of the level of living and are crucial inputs for estimation of prevalence of poverty by the Planning Commission. These indicators by the NSSO are amongst the most important measures of the level of living of the people and are crucial inputs for estimation of prevalence of poverty by the Planning Commission.
According to the survey, the all-India estimate of average MPCE was around Rs 1,430 for rural areas and about Rs 2,630 for urban centres. The average urban MPCE was about 84 percent higher than average rural MPCE as a whole, though there were wide variations in this differential across states.
