Southern states dominate': Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu lead India’s spending surge

By highlighting the fact that Southern India is outpacing the rest of the country in the consumption of goods and services, the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24 throws a lighten India spending behavior. The five southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, had MPCE figures that place them as economic and consumer spending front-runners.

The highest in the South, where a rural household spends Rs6,611 and an urban household Rs7,834 a month. These figures are significantly higher than the national averages of Rs 4,122 in rural areas and Rs 6,996 in urban areas. Tamil Nadu follows closely, with Rs 5,872 and Rs 8,325 for rural and urban MPCE, respectively.Telangana is even pricier — Rs 9,131 in urban households, Rs 5,675 in rural.

This record isfor all southern states and Andhra Pradesh has the highest MPCE among southern states. Households in rural areas there spend Rs 6,107 a month; urban spending is even higher at Rs 9,877. Finishing the finale is Karnataka, where rural households pay Rs 5,068 and urban homes Rs 8,169.

The data shows a stark South vs North divide. And most industrialized states — Gujarat and Maharashtra — cluster just above the national average even as populous northern states with low MPCE, like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, report figures below the average bylarge margins.

But the survey also shows huge rural-urban gaps across the country, independent of regional differences. The highest gap is in Meghlaya, where urban households are likely to spend 104% more as compared to that of rural households. An 83% gap exists in Jharkhand, while Chhattisgarh — where rural MPCE is a paltry Rs 2,739 — has an 80% disparity.

Sikkim is, interestingly, the state with the highest MPCE across the country. Household spending among rural households is Rs9,377 in Sikkim, while urban spends Rs 13,927. At the other extremes, the lowest MPCE in the country is reported from Chhattisgarh.

This survey, held between August 2023 and July 2024, provides rich information of India economy. These trends reveal the India South North divide that is slowly pulling apart regions economically and financially.