Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Decoding consumption: On the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey

Decoding consumption: On the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey

The 2022-23 household (परिवार, गृहस्थी) spending survey signals shifts in people’s priorities

In an uncharacteristic (अस्वाभाविक) late Saturday release, the Statistics Ministry unveiled (release, disclose, publish, reveal, make known, make public) the broad (comprehensive, extensive, wide, wide-ranging, broad-ranging) findings of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (घरेलू उपभोग व्यय सर्वेक्षण) done between August 2022 and July 2023. This is significant as it is the first major survey-based data released since 2011-12 that captures ground realities (जमीनी हकीकत) at the household level — especially with the once-a-decade Census (जनगणना), due since 2021, nowhere in sight. Conducted every five years by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) (राष्ट्रीय नमूना सर्वेक्षण कार्यालय), the results of the last such consumption survey in 2017-18, along with a similar employment survey, were junked (अस्वीकार कर देना, त्यागना) with the government citing “quality issues” with the data — viewed as a euphemism (an innocuous (inoffensive/harmless) or pleasant word/phrase/expression that is used as an alternative to something offensive & unpleasant; polite term, indirect term, mild alternative, understatement) for the unhappy tidings (खबर, समाचार) it may have showed. If the 2017-18 Survey was abandoned because it captured the deleterious (हानिकारक) after-effects (consequence, aftermath, repercussion; fallout, end result, outcome) of the demonetisation of high-value currency notes in late 2016 on India’s largely (काफी हद तक) informal economy (अनौपचारिक अर्थव्यवस्था), and the subsequent onset (शुरुआत) of the Goods and Services Tax, the 2022-23 survey also needs to be interpreted (व्याख्या) with a dash of salt. For, it may likely (probably, presumably, potentially, doubtlessly) magnify (increase, augment, intensify, deepen, heighten, maximize) the exuberance (excitement, elation, enthusiasm, cheerfulness, buoyancy) seen in consumption after two years of pandemic-induced (caused/produced by the pandemic) curbs (constraint, restriction, limitation, control) and income losses — what economists call the release of pent-up (suppressed, confined, held back, not expressed (emotions/feelings)) demand.

To be clear (used to say something should be comprehensible/understandable), the Survey suggests (indicate, signify, denote, point to) some interesting transitions (change, shift, transformation) in consumption patterns and the complete findings (conclusion arrived at (as a result of an inquiry)) must be published swiftly (quickly, instantly, promptly, immediately, suddenly, expeditiously) to enable (facilitate, make (something) possible; warrant, authorize, validate) deeper analysis. Households’ average monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) rose 33.5% since 2011-12 in cities to reach ₹3,510, and 40.4% in rural India to ₹2,008. The government has sought to paint (narrate, outline, detail; portray, render, represent, depict) this as a signal (संकेत) of rising incomes, narrowing (diminish, decrease, reduce, lessen) inequality (Inequality is simply defined as “the state of not being equal, especially in status, rights and opportunities; imbalance, unevenness, disproportion, disparity), and a sharp slippage (decrease, reduction; deficiency, shortage) in poverty levels. But this only implies a 3.5% compounded annual growth in rural spends over 11 years, with a 3% growth for urban households — well below the inflation (simply meaning “cost of living”; increase of price level of goods & services and vice versa decrease of currency value) and GDP growth rates in this period. Puzzlingly (perplexingly, bewilderingly, mystifyingly, bafflingly), even after adding the imputed (estimated) values of free goods received through a myriad (various, many and various, manifold, multiple) of welfare (a government program that provides (financial) assistance to individuals and families in need; social security, government/state benefit, public assistance) schemes such as the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (The PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme was part of the Centre’s initial COVID-19 relief package, back in March 2020 when the first lockdown was announced. It provides for 5 kg of rice or wheat per person per month to be distributed free of cost to the 80 crore beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act), the average MPCE only rose to ₹2,054 for rural households and ₹3,544 for urban peers ((of a person) equal, fellow). That the proportion (ratio, distribution, relative amount/number) of monthly spends on food has slipped (fall, sink, drop, go down, decrease) below 50% in rural homes (to 46.4%), and under 40% in urban homes, with cereals (a grain or plants that produce it (for example-wheat, maize, rice & etc.)) seeing the sharpest drop (decrease, reduction, decline, slump, depreciation), is remarkable, and may ease inflation trends if used to rejig (reorganize, rearrange, revise, reconstitute) Consumer Price Index (an (economic) data figure reflecting something (e.g. price/quantity) compared with a standard or base value; pointer, indicator) weightages (importance, significance, value (of something when compared with another thing)). However, it is pertinent (relevant, appropriate, applicable, germane, suitable) to recall (remember, recollect, call to mind, think of) that food inflation (the condition of an increase in the wholesale price index of a necessary food item relative to the general index or the consumer price index (CPI) is referred to as food inflation. In layman’s language, it is basically the rise in the cost of an essential food item relative to the previous price) began spiking (increase sharply) last June just ahead of the Survey’s completion, and has remained elevated (increased, raised) since. So, proportional (corresponding, comparable, commensurate, relative, correlative) spends have likely changed. A clearer picture (impression, view, vision, notion), devoid of (lacking, without, free of/free from) pent-up demand and inflation flip-flop (a sudden reversal of something, particularly a policy/plan) effects, is expected from the fresh Survey that concludes this July. So, any recalibration (reevaluation, reassessment, reorganization/revamp) of poverty, inflation or GDP calculations must wait till those results are compiled, and released as well.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.household (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिवार, गृहस्थी
English Meaning - family, house.

2.The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - घरेलू उपभोग व्यय सर्वेक्षण
English Meaning - It is designed to collect information on consumption of goods and services by the households. The survey also collects some auxiliary information on household characteristics and demographic particulars of the households. Information collected in HCES is useful for understanding the consumption and expenditure pattern, standard of living and well-being of the households. The data collected in HCES is also utilized for deriving various other macroeconomic indicators.

3.signal (verb)

Hindi Meaning - संकेत
English Meaning - indicate, suggest, signify, denote, reveal.

4.uncharacteristic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अस्वाभाविक
English Meaning - unusual, uncommon, unconventional.

5.ground reality (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जमीनी हकीकत
English Meaning - practical condition/situation.

6.decade (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दशक
English Meaning - a period of ten years.

7.census (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जनगणना
English Meaning - an official survey, particularly of a population.

8.National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - राष्ट्रीय नमूना सर्वेक्षण कार्यालय
English Meaning - The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) was set up in 1950, with the idea of having a permanent survey organization to collect data on various facets of the economy. As per the government announcement dated May 23, 2019, that the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) is merged with the Central Statistics Office to form the National Statistical Office (NSO).

9.junk (verb)

Hindi Meaning - अस्वीकार कर देना, त्यागना
English Meaning - discard, dispose of, throw out, get rid of.

10.tidings (noun)

Hindi Meaning - खबर, समाचार
English Meaning - news, information, reports.

11.deleterious (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - हानिकारक
English Meaning - damaging, adverse, disadvantageous, unfavourable, unfortunate, undesirable.

12.largely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - काफी हद तक
English Meaning - mostly, mainly, generally.

13.informal economy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनौपचारिक अर्थव्यवस्था
English Meaning - informal sector, grey economy is the part of an economy that is neither taxed, nor monitored by any form of government.

14.onset (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शुरुआत
English Meaning - start, beginning, arrival.

15.interpret (verb)

Hindi Meaning - व्याख्या
English Meaning - explain, elucidate, take, take to mean, understand, comprehend.

16.decode (verb)

English Meaning - explain, understand, comprehend, interpret, figure out.

17.Consumption Expenditure Survey (CES) (noun)

English Meaning - The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) is usually conducted at quinquennial (recurring every five years) intervals by The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). The NSS Consumer Expenditure Survey generates estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) and the distribution of households and persons over the MPCE classes. It is designed to collect information regarding expenditure on consumption of goods and services (food and non-food) consumed by households. The results, after release, are also used for rebasing of the GDP and other macro-economic indicators.

18.private consumption or consumption expenditure (noun)

English Meaning - the spending by households (consumers) on goods and services, excluding new housing.

19.unveil (phrase)

English Meaning - release, disclose, publish, reveal, make known, make public.

20.broad (adjective)

English Meaning - comprehensive, extensive, wide, wide-ranging, broad-ranging.

21.findings (noun)

English Meaning - conclusion arrived at (as a result of an inquiry).

22.due (adjective)

English Meaning - expected, awaited, anticipated.

23.in sight (phrase)

English Meaning - seeable, visible, noticeable; close to being achieved.

24.cite (verb)

English Meaning - invoke, mention, refer to, point to, adduce, turn to, resort to.

25.euphemism (noun)

English Meaning - an innocuous (inoffensive/harmless) or pleasant word/phrase/expression that is used as an alternative to something offensive & unpleasant; polite term, indirect term, mild alternative, understatement.

26.after-effect (noun)

English Meaning - consequence, aftermath, repercussion; fallout, end result, outcome.

27.demonetisation (noun)

English Meaning - the act of depriving a currency unit (note/coin) of its status as money.

28.subsequent (adjective)

English Meaning - following, ensuing, succeeding, successive.

29.dash (noun)

English Meaning - pinch, grain, a small amount of something.

30.take something with a pinch/grain/dash of salt (phrase)

English Meaning - be skeptical or doubtful of something; disbelieve, distrust, doubt, be wary of, be suspicious of, have no confidence/faith in.

31.likely (adverb)

English Meaning - probably, presumably, potentially, doubtlessly.

32.magnify (verb)

English Meaning - increase, augment, intensify, deepen, heighten, maximize.

33.exuberance (noun)

English Meaning - excitement, elation, enthusiasm, cheerfulness, buoyancy.

34.pandemic (noun)

English Meaning - the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.

35.pandemic-induced (adjective)

English Meaning - caused/produced by the pandemic.

36.curb (noun)

English Meaning - constraint, restriction, limitation, control.

37.pent-up (adjective)

English Meaning - suppressed, confined, held back, not expressed (emotions/feelings).

38.pent-up demand (noun)

English Meaning - pent up demand is a build-up of demand for goods and services in an economy where consumers are unable or unwilling to make purchases to satisfy the demand at the present time. Pent up demand happens during periods when consumers are reluctant or unable to make needed or desired purchases. This generally occurs during times of economic uncertainty - such as a recession.

39.to be clear (phrase)

English Meaning - used to say something should be comprehensible/understandable.

40.suggest (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, signify, denote, point to.

41.transition (noun)

English Meaning - change, shift, transformation.

42.swiftly (adverb)

English Meaning - quickly, instantly, promptly, immediately, suddenly, expeditiously.

43.enable (verb)

English Meaning - facilitate, make (something) possible; warrant, authorize, validate.

44.per-capita (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to each person; per person, for each, individual.

45.sought past tense of seek (verb)

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

46.paint (verb)

English Meaning - narrate, outline, detail; portray, render, represent, depict.

47.narrow (verb)

English Meaning - diminish, decrease, reduce, lessen.

48.inequality (noun)

English Meaning - Inequality is simply defined as “the state of not being equal, especially in status, rights and opportunities; imbalance, unevenness, disproportion, disparity.

49.slippage (noun)

English Meaning - decrease, reduction; deficiency, shortage.

50.imply (verb)

English Meaning - suggest, indicate, point to, signify.

51.compound annual growth rate (CAGR) (noun)

English Meaning - growth of something (economy, investment, etc.) calculated over a period of years, showing the percentage increase for each year over the previous year.

52.inflation (noun)

English Meaning - simply meaning “cost of living”; increase of price level of goods & services and vice versa decrease of currency value.

53.Gross domestic product (GDP) (noun)

English Meaning - a measure of economic activity in a country. the total value of all final goods and services produced within the country in one financial year.

54.puzzlingly (adverb)

English Meaning - perplexingly, bewilderingly, mystifyingly, bafflingly.

55.imputed (adjective)

English Meaning - estimated.

56.myriad (adjective)

English Meaning - various, many and various, manifold, multiple.

57.welfare (noun)

English Meaning - a government program that provides (financial) assistance to individuals and families in need; social security, government/state benefit, public assistance.

58.PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) (noun)

English Meaning - The PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme was part of the Centre’s initial COVID-19 relief package, back in March 2020 when the first lockdown was announced. It provides for 5 kg of rice or wheat per person per month to be distributed free of cost to the 80 crore beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act.

59.peer (noun)

English Meaning - (of a person) equal, fellow.

60.proportion (noun)

English Meaning - ratio, distribution, relative amount/number.

61.slip (verb)

English Meaning - fall, sink, drop, go down, decrease.

62.cereal (noun)

English Meaning - a grain or plants that produce it (for example-wheat, maize, rice & etc.).

63.drop (noun)

English Meaning - decrease, reduction, decline, slump, depreciation.

64.ease (verb)

English Meaning - decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, lower.

65.rejig (verb)

English Meaning - reorganize, rearrange, revise, reconstitute,

66.index (noun)

English Meaning - an (economic) data figure reflecting something (e.g. price/quantity) compared with a standard or base value; pointer, indicator.

67.consumer price index (CPI) (noun)

English Meaning - a monthly measurement of prices for most household goods and services.

68.Wholesale Price Index (WPI) (noun)

English Meaning - The WPI looks at a basket of wholesale goods (goods purchased in large quantities by businesses directly from manufacturers with the intent of reselling them to retailers). the WPI tracks prices at the factory gate before the retail level.

69.weightage (noun)

English Meaning - importance, significance, value (of something when compared with another thing).

70.pertinent (adjective)

English Meaning - relevant, appropriate, applicable, germane, suitable.

71.recall (verb)

English Meaning - remember, recollect, call to mind, think of.

72.food inflation (noun)

English Meaning - the condition of an increase in the wholesale price index of a necessary food item relative to the general index or the consumer price index (CPI) is referred to as food inflation. In layman’s language, it is basically the rise in the cost of an essential food item relative to the previous price.

73.spike (adjective)

English Meaning - increase sharply.

74.elevated (adjective)

English Meaning - increased, raised.

75.proportional (adjective)

English Meaning - corresponding, comparable, commensurate, relative, correlative.

76.picture (noun)

English Meaning - impression, view, vision, notion.

77.devoid of (noun)

English Meaning - lacking, without, free of/free from.

78.flip-flop (noun)

English Meaning - a sudden reversal of something, particularly a policy/plan.