{"id":44260,"date":"2024-12-28T08:50:33","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T03:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=44260"},"modified":"2025-05-06T09:49:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T04:19:30","slug":"reversal-of-declining-food-expenditure-trends-in-2023-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/reversal-of-declining-food-expenditure-trends-in-2023-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Reversal of Declining Food Expenditure Trends in 2023-24"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What is HCES?<\/li>\n<li>Highlights of the HCES 2023-24<\/li>\n<li>Income Distribution and Spending Trends<\/li>\n<li>Sectoral and State-Wise Breakdown of Expenditure<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (<strong>HCES<\/strong>) 2023-24 provides crucial insights into consumption patterns, inequality, and regional variations.<\/li>\n<li>The report highlights <strong>a significant reversal in the decade-long decline in the share of food expenditure in both rural and urban households.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s average household consumption spending on a per capita basis rose about 3.5% in real terms through August 2023 to July 2024 from a year ago.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is HCES?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (<strong>MoSPI<\/strong>),HCES is <strong>designed to collect information on consumption and expenditure<\/strong> of the households on <strong>goods and services<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The survey provides data required to assess <strong>trends in economic well-being<\/strong> and to determine and update the basket of consumer goods and services and weights used for the calculation of the Consumer Price Index.<\/li>\n<li>Data collected in HCES is also used to <strong>measure poverty, inequality, and social exclusion<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (<strong>MPCE<\/strong>) compiled from HCES is the <strong>primary indicator <\/strong>used for most analytical purposes.<\/li>\n<li>The estimates of MPCE of 2023-24 are based on the data collected from 2,61,953 households (1,54,357 in rural areas and 1,07,596 in urban areas) in the central sample spread <strong>over all States and UTs<\/strong> in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Highlights of the HCES 2023-24:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rising food expenditure:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rural households: <\/strong>The share of food expenditure increased to 47.04% in 2023-24 from 46.38% in 2022-23.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Urban households:<\/strong> A slight rise to 39.68% in 2023-24 from 39.17% in the previous year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance of this trend: <\/strong>This trend <strong>reflects the impact of higher food prices<\/strong>, as the figures are in nominal terms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Urban-rural expenditure gap:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The difference in average monthly consumption expenditure between rural and urban households <strong>narrowed <\/strong>to 69.7% in 2023-24 from 71.2% in 2022-23.<\/li>\n<li>The gap has consistently reduced over the last decade, <strong>indicating stronger growth in rural consumption spending.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Average monthly consumption expenditure (MPCE):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rural areas: <\/strong>MPCE increased by 9.3% to Rs 4,122 in 2023-24 from Rs 3,773 in 2022-23.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Urban areas: <\/strong>MPCE rose to Rs 6,996, up from Rs 6,459 in the previous year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Historical context: <\/strong>MPCE in 2011-12 was Rs 1,430 (rural) and Rs 2,630 (urban), showing significant growth over the years.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Imputed consumption:<\/strong> Including social welfare benefits, MPCE was Rs 4,247 (rural) and Rs 7,078 (urban) in 2023-24.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Income Distribution and Spending Trends:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Trends:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Top 5%:<\/strong> Decline in MPCE for the top 5% of rural (Rs 10,137) and urban (Rs 20,310) households compared to 2022-23.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom 5%:<\/strong> Significant increase in MPCE for rural (Rs 1,677) and urban (Rs 2,376) households.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom 20%: <\/strong>Highest percentage growth in spending &#8211; 19.2% (rural) and 18% (urban).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Top 20%: <\/strong>Marginal growth of 1.5% (rural) and 1.1% (urban).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consumption inequality: <\/strong>The <strong>Gini coefficient,<\/strong> a measure of inequality, declined:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rural areas:<\/strong> From 0.266 in 2022-23 to 0.237 in 2023-24.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Urban areas:<\/strong> From 0.314 to 0.284.<\/li>\n<li>This indicates <strong>reduced consumption inequality<\/strong> across both rural and urban households.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Sectoral and State-Wise Breakdown of Expenditure:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sectoral:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Food items:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"image image_resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/Household_Consumption_Expenditure_Survey_HCES_aa3483cdc1.webp\" alt=\"Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES).webp\" \/><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cereals:<\/strong> Share increased slightly for both rural (4.99%) and urban (3.76%) households.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Beverages and processed foods: <\/strong>Highest share at 9.84% (rural) and 11.09% (urban).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Non-food items:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rural:<\/strong> 52.96% of expenditure, driven by conveyance, medical expenses, and clothing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Urban:<\/strong> 60.32%, primarily on rent, entertainment, and durable goods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>State-wise consumption patterns:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Higher spending states: <\/strong>Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lower spending states:<\/strong> West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rajasthan: <\/strong>An exception with higher rural spending but lower urban spending compared to the national average.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The HCES 2023-24 reflects a notable shift in consumption trends, marked by increasing food expenditure, narrowing rural-urban disparities, and reduced consumption inequality.<\/li>\n<li>While most population segments experienced growth in spending, <strong>the decline in top-tier expenditure and the methodological challenges in data collection warrant further analysis<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The full report, expected next year, will provide deeper insights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What is the significance of the Gini coefficient?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality in a population, and it&#8217;s a significant tool for economists and policymakers. The Gini coefficient is a number between 0 (perfect equality) and 1 (perfect inequality) that measures how unequal income is distributed across a population.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojna (PM-JAY)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>PMJAY will provide a cover of up to Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/Industry\/rural-urban-consumption-inequality-dips-during-august-2023-july-2024-government-survey\/article69033670.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/food-spending-rural-areas-gap-urban-household-consumption-survey-2023-24-9747907\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24 provides crucial insights into consumption patterns, inequality, and regional variations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44260","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}