Gujaratis' purchasing power has been rising at a much slower pace than most states: Official data

By Rajiv Shah
New data released by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), in the report “Key Indicators of Household Consumer Expenditure in India”, released in June 2013, have suggested that the purchasing power of the people, as reflected in the monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE), has been rising at a much slower pace than most states of India. As a result, Gujaratis, on an average, are forced to spend a higher percentage on food items, as against non-food items, which are a secondary priority of people. Non-food items, according to the NSSO, include transport, fuel, light, clothing, footwear, education, medical bills, entertainment, paan and cigarettes or bidis, and durables.
The figures show that whether it is the rural areas or the urban areas, Gujarat’s households spent more on food items than the all-India average in 2011-12. Thus, as against 52.9 per cent spending on food items in rural India, Gujarati households’ spent 54.9 per cent, suggesting a clear gap of three percentage points. Similarly, as against urban India’s average per capita spending of 42.6 per cent on food items, Gujarati households on an average spent a higher proportion on food items, 45.2 per cent, suggesting a .gap of 2.8 per cent
The per capita spending on food items in Gujarat has been on higher side compared to several states – Andhra Pradesh (51.4 per cent rural, and 42.3 per cent urban), Chhattisgarh (52.7 per cent rural and 40.2 per cent urban), Haryana (52.1 per cent urban and 39.2 per cent rural), Himachal Pradesh (47.3 per cent rural and 42.4 per cent urban), Karnataka (51.4 per cent rural and 40.1 per cent rural), Kerala (43.0 per cent rural and 37.0 per cent urban), Madhya Pradesh (52.9 per cent rural and 42.2 per cent urban), Maharashtra (52.4 per cent rural and 41.6 per cent urban), Punjab (44.1 per cent rural and 41.0 per cent urban), Rajasthan (50.5 per cent rural and 44.8 per cent urban), Tamil Nadu (51.5 per cent rural and 42.7 per cent urban), and Uttar Pradesh (53.0 per cent rural and 44.0 per cent urban). The states which spent more than Gujarat’s on food items were Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand, all known for backwardness.
Also it is revealing that Gujaratis' spending on the food items went down in the rural areas from 57.7 per cent in 2009-10 to 54.9 per cent in 2011-12, a fall of 2.8 per cent, as against the all-India average of 4.1 per cent. As for the urban areas, it down from 46.2 per cent in 2009-10 to 45.2 per cent in 2011-12, a fall of exactly one per cent, as against the all-India average of 1.8 per cent.
It may also be noted that the average MPCE of rural Gujarat is Rs 1,535.66 which is little higher than all-India (Rs 1429.96). Yet, the fact is, the rural population of several states has a higher spending capacity than Gujarat’s – Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1753.96), Chhattisgarh (Rs 2,762.11), Haryana (Rs 2,176.04), Himachal Pradesh (Rs 2,034.15), Himachal Pradesh (Rs 1742.64), Jharkhand (Rs 1,561.28), Karnataka (Rs 2,668.73), Maharashtra (Rs 1619.22), Punjab (Rs 2344.66), Rajasthan (Rs 1,597.50), Tamil Nadu (Rs 1,692.93), and Uttarakhand (Rs 1725.77).
What is disconcerting is that, the urban households’ spending capacity is worse than all-India average – it was Rs 2,581.28 in the state as against Rs 2,629.65 of the country as a whole. Only the so-called Bimaru states had a worse urban MPCE than Gujarat’s – Rs 2,189.15 in Assam, Rs 1,506.58 in Bihar, Rs 1,867.86 in Chhattisharh, Rs 2,485.34 in Jammu & Kashmir, Rs 2,018.29 in Jharkhand, Rs 2,058.02 in Madhya Pradesh, Rs 1,940.61 in Odisha, Rs 2,442.40 in Rajasthan, and Rs 2,051.22 in Uttar Pradesh. All other major states had a higher urban MPCE than Gujarat’s, and Kerala topped the list with Rs 3,408.45 in Kerala, followed by Himachal Pradesh Rs 3,258.54. Both the states have some of the best social sector indicators, too.

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Subject to geological upheaval, the time to listen to the Himalayas has already passed

By Rajkumar Sinha* The people of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, who have somehow survived the onslaught of reckless development so far, are crying out in despair that within the next ten to fifteen years their very existence will vanish. If one carefully follows the news coming from these two Himalayan states these days, this painful cry does not appear exaggerated. How did these prosperous and peaceful states reach such a tragic condition? What feats of our policymakers and politicians pushed these states to the brink of destruction?

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

'Centre criminally negligent': SKM demands national disaster declaration in flood-hit states

By A Representative The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has urged the Centre to immediately declare the recent floods and landslides in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Haryana as a national disaster, warning that the delay in doing so has deepened the suffering of the affected population.

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

Counterview

Search This Blog