Monthly expenditure trends in Bengal: Food vs. non-food items
Times of India | 13 June 2024
KOLKATA: Rural Bengal spent more on food items each month than non-food items, whereas the pattern was reversed in urban households. An average household in rural Bengal spent Rs 1,583 on non-food items and Rs 1,655 on food each month; in urban Bengal, the expenditure on non-food items was Rs 2,921 and Rs 2,345 on food.
Rural Bengal, interestingly, spent more per month than urban Bengal in the "paan, tobacco and intoxicants" category - 5.8% each month.In urban Bengal, this was only 2.7%.
Across the country, the survey noted a higher outflow on non-food items each month. In rural India, this rose from 40.6% in 1999 to 53.6% in 2022-2023, while it was 60.8% from 51.9% in urban India.