India spends double than Bharat

NEW DELHI: The benefits of high economic growth have been unable to bridge the gap between urban and rural people in terms of spending capacity. India spends almost double the amount spent by Bharat.

The per capita monthly expenditure of people living in urban areas was Rs 1,052.36 a month between July 2004 and June 2005 against Rs 558.78 for those in rural areas, according to the 61st survey of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

Even among the rural folk, the expenditure for agriculture labourers was the lowest at Rs 415.65 per month against
Rs 519.81 for the category group ‘other labourers’, Rs 583.48 for the household type ‘self-employed in agriculture’ and
Rs 604.41 for household type ‘self-employed in non-agriculture’.

The average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) for the household type others in the rural areas was the highest
at Rs 818.19 per month.

In urban India, the average MPCE of persons belonging to the household type ‘casual labour’ was the lowest among all the household types at Rs 579.63. This was followed by the average MPCE of Rs 982.35 for persons belonging to the household type ‘self-employed’.

The average MPCE of Rs 1212.66 for persons belonging to the household type ‘regular wage/salary earning’ was, however, lower than the average MPCE of Rs 1,444.97 for persons belonging to the household type ‘others’.

The survey gives the expenditure of scheduled castes and tribes, other backward classes and general category people. It puts the all-India average spending by rural STs at the lowest level of Rs 426.19, followed by rural SCs at Rs 474.72, OBCs Rs 556.72 and others Rs 685.31.

In comparison, urban STs spent Rs 857.46, SCs Rs 758.38, OBCs Rs 870.93 and others Rs 1,306.10 in a month, on an average.

In economically-backward states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, SCs and STs were spending between Rs 344 and Rs 527. However, in the educationally-forward state of Kerala, SCs were spending over Rs 750 a month, much higher than the national average.