In 2022-2023, households in Urban Nagaland spent 61 per cent more than households in the Rural Nagaland, says the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation during August 2022 to July 2023. This survey aims at generating estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE).

According to the survey, while the average MPCE in Urban Nagaland is at Rs 7,089, that of Rural households stand at Rs 4,393.

Overall in India, the average estimated MPCE in 2022-23 has been Rs 3,773 in Rural India and Rs 6,459 in Urban India. According to the survey, the top 5 per cent of India’s rural and urban population, ranked by MPCE, has an average Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure of Rs 10,501 and Rs 20,824, respectively.

MPCE is the highest in Sikkim for both rural and urban areas (Rural – Rs 7,731 and Urban – Rs 12,105). It is the lowest in Chhattisgarh (Rural – Rs 2,466 and Urban – Rs 4,483). The rural-urban difference in average Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE), among the states is the highest in Meghalaya at 83 per cent followed by Chhattisgarh at 82 per cent.

The survey shows that households spent more on non-food items with Urban India spending 61 per cent it while Rural India spent 54 per cent.

Further, the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) shows that in both urban and rural households spent the most on “beverages, refreshments and processed food” under Food Item Group with 10.64 per cent in urban households and 9.62 per cent in rural household.

In the Non-Food Item Group, for households in both areas the Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) on “conveyance” with 8.59 per cent in urban households and 7.55 per cent in rural, for whom the expenditure for “medical” is at 7.13 per cent compared to 5.91 per cent for urban households.

The MPCE for durable goods in households from both areas have also risen considerably, HCES shows. From 5.60 per cent in 2011-12, it has grown to 7.17 per cent in 2022-23 for urban areas, while for Rural India, from 4.85 per cent, it has become 6.89 percent during the same time period.