Indian economy: Betwixt questions and half answers
1 week, 4 days ago

Indian economy: Betwixt questions and half answers

New Indian Express  

It is that time of the year when public attention coalesces around the economy—and the second quarter GDP growth of 5.4 percent has catalysed angst among the public. The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey of 2023-24 reveals that the rural Indian’s average monthly per capita expenditure is at Rs 4,122 and for the urban Indian is Rs 6,996—up from Rs 1,430 and Rs 2,630 in 2011-12. On cue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alluding to welfare schemes, observed at the Grameen Mahotsav that the purchasing power of the people in villages has increased almost three times. A recent SBI study stated, “At an aggregate level, we believe poverty rates in India could now be in the range of 4-4.5 percent.” Without traversing the torturous terrain of statistics, the question that begs to be asked is if the poverty level is sub-5 percent, why are 81.3 crore people being provided free rations under the PMGKAY.

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History of this topic

India’s household consumption survey doesn’t feed public policy all that well
1 week, 5 days ago

India’s household consumption survey doesn’t feed public policy all that well

Live Mint  

India’s government recently released the findings of its 2023-24 survey of household consumption expenditure and expressed satisfaction at the seeming narrowing of spending gaps in society at large and between rural and urban populations. However, we must not set too much store by the monthly per capita consumption expenditure figures of this sample survey. India’s free foodgrain scheme may explain …

'Double engine' of private investment, mass consumption derailed under Modi government: Congress
2 months ago

'Double engine' of private investment, mass consumption derailed under Modi government: Congress

New Indian Express  

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh urged the government to accept what the Congress has been proposing - raising MGNREGA wages to a minimum of Rs.400 per day, guaranteeing MSP and a loan waiver for farmers, and a monthly income support scheme for women - to kickstart income growth in rural India. Last week, several CEOs from India Inc …

MGNREGS demand not a real indicator of rural distress: Economic Survey
5 months, 3 weeks ago

MGNREGS demand not a real indicator of rural distress: Economic Survey

The Hindu  

Laying the groundwork for revisiting the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as a poverty alleviation tool, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran on July 22 noted in the Economic Survey that demand under the scheme was not a “real indicator” of rural distress. According to the survey, while Tamil Nadu has less than 1% of the poor population in …

Poverty and inequality debate resurfaces in election season
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Poverty and inequality debate resurfaces in election season

Hindustan Times  

As Indians heads to the poll this season, a new chapter is being written in a very old debate about poverty and inequality in India. This debate has been stirred up by the release of new data from a government- The economist Maitreesh Ghatak spoke about the resurgent debate over poverty and inequality on last week’s episode of Grand Tamasha, …

Letters to The Editor — April 12, 2024
9 months ago

Letters to The Editor — April 12, 2024

The Hindu  

Survey pre-poll findings The Hindu-CSDS-Lokniti Pre-poll Survey 2024 findings, that “jobs, inflation” are the key issues in the Lok Sabha elections are hardly surprising. However, what is surprising is that the Bharatiya Janata Party appears to be the least concerned about such issues and has been talking only in terms of ‘400 seats’ and ‘an action programme for the first …

Data on what Indians earn does have plenty to reveal of poverty in India
9 months, 1 week ago

Data on what Indians earn does have plenty to reveal of poverty in India

Live Mint  

Even though the fact-sheet on the Consumption Expenditure Survey has been officially released, the debate on poverty is far from over. For all of India, it would imply a poverty line of ₹445 per day, slightly higher than the government notified minimum wages. This was only ₹310 per day in case of agricultural workers, lower than the estimate reported by …

What the new expenditure survey says about poverty
9 months, 2 weeks ago

What the new expenditure survey says about poverty

New Indian Express  

The publication of a fact sheet by the National Sample Survey Office, containing the results of the NSS Household Consumer Expenditure Survey data for 2022-23, a decade after the publication of the last survey data in 2011-12, has again sparked a debate regarding poverty in India. Using the 2022-23 data on average monthly per capita consumer expenditure for rural and …

Terms of Trade | Will HCES findings change politics in India?
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Terms of Trade | Will HCES findings change politics in India?

Hindustan Times  

When the government publishes the data for the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, India will see a big debate on consumption levels, inequality and poverty. From the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the National Food Security Act under the United Progressive Alliance era to the Narendra Modi government significantly expanding the scope of asset transfer programmes such as …

SBI Research backs NSSO report, credits Modi govt for decline in India's consumption inequality
10 months, 2 weeks ago

SBI Research backs NSSO report, credits Modi govt for decline in India's consumption inequality

Op India  

On Tuesday, a research report published by the State Bank of India corroborated the findings of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, which was conducted by the National Sample Survey Office. Decadal changes in MPCE show decline in consumption inequality, graphic via SBI Research “Rural Poverty has thus staged a significant 440-basis point decline since 2018-19 and Urban Poverty a 170-basis …

Poverty levels below 5%, claims NITI Aayog chief
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Poverty levels below 5%, claims NITI Aayog chief

The Hindu  

Less than 5% of Indians are now expected to be below the poverty line, and extreme destitution has almost gone away, a top government official asserted on February 25, citing the findings of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey for 2022-23. Subrahmanyam, the chief executive officer of the Centre’s think tank Niti Aayog, averred that growth is “broad-based” with rural Indians’ …

A poverty trend in search of an explanation
2 years, 6 months ago

A poverty trend in search of an explanation

The Hindu  

A noticeable absence in the blitzkrieg of information on the economy periodically unleashed by the Union government over the past few years has been estimates of poverty. While the level of poverty estimated by these two studies varies considerably, with the one by Roy and van der Weide showing twice the poverty level estimated by Bhalla et al., they share …

Budget 2020: Dear Modi Govt, Is This Really ‘Economic Survey’?
4 years, 11 months ago

Budget 2020: Dear Modi Govt, Is This Really ‘Economic Survey’?

The Quint  

The CAG, independent experts, and former Finance Secretary have all pointed how the fiscal deficit is substantially higher than the headline number. The Survey prescribes not paying undue attention to the fiscal deficit breaching the limits under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003. This Survey certainly prepares the defence and ground for higher fiscal slippage in the budget …

India’s rural poverty has shot up
5 years, 1 month ago

India’s rural poverty has shot up

Live Mint  

Ever since India moved to a high growth trajectory in the 1980s, poverty rates have consistently declined over time. A Mint analysis of the consumption expenditure numbers reported by the National Statistical Office in a hushed-up report suggests that rural poverty rose nearly 4 percentage points between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to 30 percent even as urban poverty fell 5 percentage …

In India, inequality bigger challenge than poverty
5 years, 1 month ago

In India, inequality bigger challenge than poverty

Hindustan Times  

What if India had just 100 people? That’s how skewed wealth distribution is and, by a wide reckoning, the next big challenge for India isn’t poverty reduction, but inequality. Research points to two specific challenges: not only are the rich consolidating a disproportionate amount of wealth and income, but per capita incomes across states — which should converge, by standard …

Daily Bulletin: NDA-II's first Economic Survey to be tabled in Parliament; Rahul Gandhi to appear in Mumbai court over RSS defamation case; day's top stories
5 years, 6 months ago

Daily Bulletin: NDA-II's first Economic Survey to be tabled in Parliament; Rahul Gandhi to appear in Mumbai court over RSS defamation case; day's top stories

Firstpost  

Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian to table the first Economic Survey, ahead of Union Budget; Rahul Gandhi to appear in Mumbai court in RSS defamation case concerning Gauri Lankesh’s murder; day’s top stories Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian to table the first Economic Survey, ahead of Union Budget Narendra Modi-led BJP government is set to present its first Economic Survey …

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