Household Consumption Expenditure Survey: 2022-23 Fact Sheet (August 2022- July 2023)

The National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, published this factsheet on the nation-wide 'Household Consumption Expenditure Survey' on February 24, 2024. The survey was conducted between August 2022 and July 2023. Presenting information on the consumption of goods and services in households, reports of these surveys are usually published every five years. The previous edition, however, was released in 2011-12.

The questionnaire for the survey slots 405 items of consumption under three broad categories: (i) food items, (ii) consumables and services items, and (iii) durable goods. The survey was conducted across all states and union territories of India, covering 8,723 villages and 6,115 urban blocks. A total of 2,61,746 households – 1,55,014 in rural areas and 1,06,732 in urban areas – were interviewed.

This factsheet presents data on the monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) of a household, defined as “the total value of monthly consumption of goods and services of the household divided by the number of members of the household”. As opposed to earlier rounds, the factsheet presents a distinct set of MPCE estimates after imputing the value of consumed items – such as rice, wheat, salt, laptop, bicycle, etc. – received free of cost through social welfare programmes of the government.

The factsheet states that the average all-India monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE without imputation) is Rs. 6,459 in urban households for 2022-23. This is about 71 per cent higher than the MPCE in rural households which is at Rs. 3,773.

The reference period (duration for which consumption is recorded) is last seven days for items like edible oil, egg, fish, milk; last 30 days for all other food items, fuel, lights; last 365 days for clothing, education, medical, and durable goods.

This 27-page document includes two sections: Estimates of MPCE (Section I) and Estimates of MPCE with imputation (Section II). The factsheet links five appendices: Appendix A: Questionnaires of Household Consumption Expenditure Survey; Appendix B: Concepts & Definitions; Appendix C: Survey Methodology and Estimation Procedure; Appendix D: Imputation Method; Appendix E: Relative Standard Error & Confidence Interval.