Indian government hid another survey that showed fall in consumer spending for the first time in four decades: Report

• Another shocking scoop from Business Standard showed that the Narendra Modi government did not release a report that showed economy in distress.
• India's consumer spending fell for the first time in four decades according to a survey approved for release in June 2019, but is yet to hit the public domain.
• This is the second time a similar allegation has been made against the government; another NSO survey on rising unemployment was held back from release by the government until the elections were over.

Another shocking scoop from Business Standard showed may have the Narendra Modi government firefighting.

A scoop from Somesh Jha said that the Indian government did not release a report that showed economy in distress. India's consumer spending fell for the first time in four decades according to a survey approved for release in June 2019, but is yet to hit the public domain. According to the report, the money spent by a household in consumption fell from ₹1,501 a month in 2011-12 to ₹1,446 a month in 2017-18.

This is the second time a similar allegation has been made against the government; another National Sample Office (NSO) survey on rising unemployment was held back from release by the government until the elections were over.

The survey was conducted between July 2017 and June 2018, eight months after demonetisation and during the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and it is hardly surprising. The slowdown in the economy has been palpable and spoken of by various economists and market watchers ad nauseam. But the government decided to hold back the report until it was reported in Business Standard today.

According to the latest report cited by the daily, money spent on consumption fell 8.8% in rural areas. This fall has been visible in slowing volume of growth of giants like Hindustan Unilever, Marico, Parle G etc. in recent quarters, which make a bulk of their earnings from smaller towns and villages. The falling growth in wages, particularly in rural India, is a big reason why people turned penny wise.


While the overall spending in urban areas rose 2% in the said period of 12 month, there was a marked fall in money spent on cereals, sugar, salt, spices, and pulses etc. in both the cities and villages.

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