NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed rising rural consumption, citing the recent household consumption expenditure survey, and a fall in poverty as highlighted in an SBI study released a day earlier.
The consumer expenditure survey showed that rural households are diversifying their spending and spending more on non-food items. “Our vision is to empower rural India by transforming villages into vibrant centers of growth and opportunity… I am confident that the development of villages will lead to the realization of a developed India,” Modi said while inaugurating the six-day Grameen Bharat duration. Mahotsav here at Bharat Mandapam. His comments on the changing face of rural India came amid preparations for the Union Budget.
The SBI study, released on Friday, noted that rural poverty fell sharply from nearly 26% in 2011-12 to 7% in 2022-23, and less than 5% in 2023-24.
The consumer expenditure survey, released last month, showed that the urban-rural gap in monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) declined to 71% in 2022-23 from 84% in 2011-12. It further reduced to 70% in 2023-24, confirming the sustained momentum of consumption growth in rural areas. The survey also showed that non-food items remained the main contributor to the average monthly expenditure of a household in 2023-24, with a share of about 53% and 60% of the MPCE in rural and urban areas, respectively.
Citing figures from the SBI study on poverty, Modi attacked the ‘Garibi Hatao’ slogan of previous Congress governments, saying that while some people have been raising slogans to eradicate poverty for decades, the country is now witnessing a reduction real poverty.
Referring to the consumer expenditure survey, which shows that the average MPCE in rural India increased from Rs 1,430 in 2011-12 to Rs 4,122 in 2023-24, Modi said the figures reveal that the purchasing power of people in the Rural India has almost tripled, indicating that people are spending more on their preferred items.
The Prime Minister earlier said that villagers had to spend more than 50% of their income on food, but for the first time since Independence, food spending in rural areas has fallen below 50%, and this means that People are now spending on other desires. and needs, improving their quality of life.
He noted that these achievements could have been achieved during the tenure of previous governments, but for decades after Independence, thousands of villages were deprived of their basic needs.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “PSBs are already carrying out credit saturation drives in priority sectors for schemes like PM MUDRA Yojana, PM Awas Yojana and SVAnidhi Yojana. Taking the drive even further, the Grameen Bharat Mahotsav showcases the rich cultural heritage of India as well as the aspirations of the rural population and development in the four areas: GI tags, natural farming, women empowerment, well-being tribal, with a focus on northeastern products.”