Over 20 states’ consumption spend higher than national avg: Report

Sikkim reported the highest monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) among Indian states across both rural and urban households while Chhattisgarh reported the lowest, according to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24 released by the ministry of statistics & programme implementation on Friday.

The two states had ranked the same in the previous year.

There is no change in their ranking even when considering imputed values of items received free of cost through various social welfare programmes.

Over 20 states and union territories showed a higher monthly consumption expenditure than the national average across both rural and urban areas, according to the survey, which was conducted between August 2023 and July 2024.

The average MPCE in rural areas across India was ₹4,122 in 2023-24. The survey showed that 26 states/UTs surpassed the all-India average MPCE, with Sikkim leading at ₹9,377, followed by Chandigarh at ₹8,857 and Goa at ₹8,048.

In urban India, the average MPCE was ₹6,996, with 23 states/UTs reporting higher average MPCE than the national figure. Sikkim at ₹13,927 again topped the list, followed by Chandigarh at ₹13,425 and Andaman and Nicobar Islands at ₹10,453.Chhattisgarh had the lowest MPCE across rural areas at ₹2,739 and urban areas at ₹4,927, the survey showed.A further analysis showed that seven states had a higher urban-rural gap in average MPCE than the all-India figure of 69.7% in 2023-24.

Meghalaya had the highest gap at 103.5%, followed by Jharkhand at 83.1%, Chhattisgarh at 79.9% and Assam at 79.1%.

Kerala was at the bottom with a gap of 17.7% among states, while Lakshadweep recorded the lowest gap among UTs at 0.4%.