60% of Rural India Lives on Less Than 35 a Day: NSSO

About 60% of India's rural population lives on less than.35 a day and nearly as many in cities live on.66 a day, reveals a government survey on income and expenditure. In terms of average per capita daily expenditure, it comes out to be about.35 in rural and.66 in urban India. About 60% of the population live with these expenditures or less in rural and urban areas, said Director General of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) J Dash in his preface to the report. According to the 66th round of National Sample Survey (NSS) carried out between July 2009 and June 2010,all India average monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) in rural areas was.1,054 and urban areas.1,984.The survey also pointed out that 10% of the population at the lowest rung in rural areas lives on.15 a day, while in urban areas the figure is only a shade better at.20 day. The poorest 10% of India's rural population had an average MPCE of.453.The poorest 10% of the urban population had an average MPCE of.599,it said. The NSSO survey also revealed that average MPCE in rural areas was lowest in Bihar and Chhattisgarh at around.780,followed by Orissa and Jharkhand at.820.Among other states, Kerala has the highest rural MPCE at 1,835 followed by Punjab and Haryana at.1,649 and.1,510 respectively. The the highest urban MCPE was in Maharashtra at.2,437 followed by Kerala at.2,413 and Haryana at.2,321.It was lowest in Bihar at.1,238.The median level of MCPE was.895 in rural and.1,502 in urban India, indicating consumption level of majority of population.

According to the study, food was estimated to account about 57% of the value of the average rural Indian household consumption during 2009-10 whereas it was 44% in cities. The study reveals that the average monthly per capita consumption of cereals was 11.3 kg in rural areas and 9.4 kg in cities. Based on NSSO estimates, the Planning Commission had pegged that poverty line at.28.65 and.22.42 daily consumption in urban and rural areas respectively in 2009-10.As per the Commission's estimates the number of persons living below poverty line was 35.46 crore in 2009-10,as compared to 40.72 crore in 2004-05.

Economic Times, New Delhi, 04-05-2012