Consumer spend sees first fall in 4 decades on weak rural demand: NSO data

In rural areas, it declined by 8.8% in 2017-18; in cities, it rose by 2% over 6 years

Consumer spending fell for the first time in more than four decades in 2017-18, primarily driven by slackening rural demand, according to the latest consumption expenditure survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

The survey — Key Indicators: Household Consumer Expenditure in India — shows the average amount of money spent by a person in a month fell by 3.7 per cent to Rs 1,446 in 2017-18 from Rs 1,501 in 2011-12. The figures for monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) are in real terms, meaning these have been adjusted for inflation, keeping 2009-10 as the base year. In 2011-12,