The survey, which was carried out between July, 2009 and June, 2010 has revealed that the poorest 10 per cent of India’s rural population had an average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of Rs 453. The poorest 10 per cent of the urban population spent an almost similar Rs 599 per month on an average.
But the top 10 per cent of the urban population spent on an average 2.5 time more than their rural counterparts at Rs 5,863 per month against Rs 2,517 per month.
The expenditure pattern becomes even starker between the rich and poor. In rural areas, the top 10 per cent of the population spent 5.6 times more than the poorest 10 per cent, while in urban areas, the divide was even wider. The top 10 per cent spent on an average 9.8 times more than the poorest 10 per cent every month. The MPCE in 2009-10 was estimated at Rs 1,053.64 in rural India and Rs 1,984.46 in urban India.
Food continued to be the major item of expenditure in rural areas for both the rich and poor, but in urban areas, the rich spend just a third of their total monthly expenditure on food. “The share of food in total household expenditure was 57 per cent and 44 per cent in rural and urban India respectively,” the survey noted.
Significantly, the expenditure on food declined in both rural and urban households in 2009-10, as compared to 2004-05. However, spending on non food articles such as durable goods, services, clothing and footwear marked a rise, indicating better living standards amongst rural and urban Indians.
While in rural India, this share in respect of bottom 10 per cent population was 65 per cent, it was 46 per cent for the top 10 per cent population. Meanwhile, in urban India, the share of food was 62 per cent for its bottom 10 per cent of population and 31 per cent for top 10 per cent population.