consumer expenditure survey indicates that poverty has come down to five per cent in the country and people are becoming prosperous both in rural and urban areas, NITI Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam said on Sunday. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, released data on household consumption expenditure for the year 2022-23 on Saturday which shows per capita monthly household expenditure more than doubled in 2022-23 as compared to 2011-12.
«This long-awaited consumer expenditure survey has brought out many things. With data on household consumption, we can assess what is the status of poverty in the country and how successful the poverty alleviation measures have been,» Subrahmanyam told reporters.
«The survey findings indicate that poverty in India is below five per cent now. I am convinced with the data,» he said.
He said that for the purpose of the survey, people were kept in 20 different categories and the data showed that the average per capita monthly expenditure for all categories stood at Rs 3,773 in rural areas and Rs 6,459 in urban areas. The average per capita monthly expenditure of 0-5 per cent fractile class is pegged at Rs 1,373 in rural areas and Rs 2,001 in urban areas.
«If we take the poverty line and inflate it with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to today's rate, we see that the average consumption of the lowest fractional, the 0-5 per cent, is about the same. This means poverty in the country is there in the 0-5 per cent group