The household consumption survey was conducted from August 2023 to July 2024. According to the new data, monthly consumption expenditure in 2023-24 at current prices was Rs 4,122 in rural areas and Rs 6,996 in urban areas. Last year, the average monthly consumption expenditure was Rs 3,773 in rural areas and Rs 6,549 in urban areas. In real terms (2011-12 prices) both rural and urban consumption have increased by only 3.5%, to Rs 2,079 and Rs 3,632 respectively. This newspaper had reported on December 3 that the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey report for 2023-24 would be released soon.
The government was waiting for the consumption data as it has to decide on the new base year for calculating economic data like GDP and inflation. The new base year could be 2022-23 or 2023-24. The Consumer Price Index basket will also be changed accordingly. It is likely that the weighting of food in the CPI basket will be aligned based on consumption survey reports. Currently, food has a weightage of 44.6% in the combined CPI that tracks retail inflation.
Comments are closed.