About Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES):
- It is designed to collect information on the consumption and expenditure of households on goods and services.
- The survey provides data required to assess trends in economic well-being and to determine and update the basket of consumer goods and services and weights used for the calculation of the Consumer Price Index. Data collected in HCES is also used to measure poverty, inequality and social exclusion.
- The Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) compiled from HCES is the primary indicator used for most analytical purposes.
Key Highlights of the Survey
- There is a persistent decline in urban-rural consumption difference across India’s major States continues in 2023-24.
- The average MPCE is on the rise across all Household types in rural and urban Areas.
- Among 18 major states, the difference between urban and rural average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of households is the lowest in Kerala, followed by Punjab, Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Bihar.
- Consumption inequality, both in rural and urban areas, for almost all the 18 major states has declined in 2023-24 from the level of 2022-23.
- At the all-India level, the Gini coefficient of consumption expenditure has declined to 0.237 in 2023-24 from 0.266 in 2022-23 for rural areas and to 0.284 in 2023-24 from 0.314 in 2022-23 for urban areas.
