With $1.8 of daily spending, India way behind US, China

06 Apr '16

2 min read

Forget India's rosy GDP growth figures. According to Goldman Sachs data and an IndiaSpend analysis, the average Indian spends $1.8 every day compared to $97 for an average American and $7 for an average Chinese.

IndiaSpend is a data journalism initiative. An Indian living in a town or city spends Rs 88 ($1.8) every day and in a village Rs 48 (72 cents), according to IndiaSpend's analysis of government spending data, last released in 2011-12. The Goldman Sachs study considered 2013 data.

This is what Indians in villages and cities spend each day, on average, on food, clothing, rent and other daily needs.

Among village folk, those in Kerala spend the highest: Rs 90 per day, followed by Goa at Rs 80, and Punjab at Rs 78.

Among urban folk, those in Haryana spent the most, Rs 127 per person per day, followed by Kerala at Rs 114 and Delhi at Rs 110.

Half the people in villages spend less than Rs 1,198 per month, which is Rs 40 per person per day, indicating the extent of poverty.

In cities, the poorest half of the people spent Rs 2,019 per month, or Rs 67 per person per day. Average spending in cities was Rs 20 higher than what the poor half spent – Rs 2,630 per month or Rs 87 per person per day. This shows inequality between the rich and the poor in urban India.

The poverty line in India is defined as the ability to spend Rs 47 per person per day in urban areas and Rs 32 in rural areas.
The global poverty line, as defined by the World Bank, is $1.90 (Rs 126)

Except rural Delhi, where the spending of the poorest half is more than the average, the spending of the poorest half of the people is lesser than the average spending in all states, indicating India's growing urban-rural divide. (SH)

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