Originally published January 10 2006
Indian citizens spend more on comforts than health and educational needs
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
India's Economic Times looks at the spending habits of most Indians, and the results of recent studies show that spending on health and education are lagging behind the rush for consumer goods and luxury items.
This should serve as an eye-opener for all.
Not children's education, not health, the largest share of Indian households' monthly consumption expenditure now goes to pay for creature comforts.
Consumer goods and services accounts for nearly a fifth of urban households' total monthly consumption expenditure as compared to 6.5% spent on education and 5.6% on healthcare.
The sharp rise in retail trade and mushrooming of shopping malls across the cities in recent years are probably indications of the change in the consumption pattern of Indian households.
According to the latest report of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) the share of consumer goods and services in urban households' consumption basket has risen from 14.1% in 1998 to 19.1% in '04.
Its share in monthly consumption expenditure of rural household has posted an increase from 9.6% to 12.8% during the same period.
The change in consumption pattern, of course, has been a continuous process and the share of food in total final consumption expenditure has been declining steadily.
Much of the surplus generated from the fall in food items' share in aggregate consumption has been used to pay for purchases of consumer goods and services.
Urban Kerala, with 22.5% share of consumer goods and services in total monthly consumption expenditure, has replaced Maharashtra on the top spot in 2004.
The urban household in Maharashtra with marginally lower share of 22.48% was down to the second place from first in 1998.
Remittances from abroad may have given the Keralite households extra funds to spend more on these amenities.
This is true for Tamil Nadu, which also has seen a sharp rise in economic emigration of late.
An average urban household in Tamil Nadu has spent 20.7% of its total monthly consumption expenditure to buy consumer goods and services.
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