Karnataka ain’t Koramangala. For all the glimmer and glamour of that quaint corner of the capital, rural Karnataka spends more than Rs 50 less than the average Indian every month. The averge monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) across the country is Rs 625; in rural Karnataka it is Rs 573.

Even in the Karnataka that lies outside Koramangala, the numbers are not so glowing. As against the national average of Rs 1,171 per month, urban Karnataka spends Rs 1,154.

In contrast, rural and urban Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala all match the national average or top it comfortably.

These and other numbers come from a report on “Household Consumer Expenditure in India, 2005-06” based on the data of 62nd round survey of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Based on a randomly drawn sample of 39,436 households spread over 4,750 villages and 5,120 urban blocks, the field work of the survey was carried out during July 2005-June 2006:

Some of the important findings of the survey are:

# In 2005-06, nearly 19% of the Indian rural population belonged to households with monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) less than Rs 365, that is, spending less than Rs 12 per person per day on consumption, at 2005-06 prices.

# In urban India, 22% of the population belonged to households with MPCE less than Rs 580 (about Rs 19 per person per day).# Average MPCE in 2005-06 was Rs 625 in rural India and Rs 1,171 in urban India at 2005-06 prices.

# Out of every rupee spent in 2005-06 by the average rural Indian on consumption, 53 paise was spent on food. Of this, 17 paise was spent on cereals and cereal substitutes, 8 paise on milk and milk products, 6 paise on vegetables, 5 paise on sugar, salt and spices, and 4 paise on beverages, refreshments, processed food and purchased meals.

# Out of every rupee spent in 2005-06 by the average urban Indian on consumption, 40 paise was spent on food. Of this, 9 paise was spent on cereals and cereal substitutes, 7 paise on milk and milk products, 6 paise on beverages, refreshments and processed food, and 4 paise on vegetables.

# Value of average food consumption per person in urban areas was within the range Rs 451-Rs 500 per month in seven out of 17 major States. In respect of rural food consumption, 13 major States belonged to the range Rs 251-400.

# Average quantity of cereals consumed per person per month in 2005-06 was 11.9 kg in rural areas and 9.8 kg in urban areas.

# About 19% of rural households lived in katcha structures (both roof and walls made of katcha materials). About 50% lived in pucca structures (both roof and walls made of pucca materials). The remaining 31% of rural households lived in semi-pucca structures, that is, structures of which either the roof or the walls (but not both) were made of pucca materials.

# In urban India, the percentage of households using LPG as the major fuel for cooking was in the range of 40-75% in all the major States. In rural India, 74% of households continued to depend on firewood and chips as their major cooking fuel. About 9% used dung cake and another 9% used LPG.

# About 56% of households in rural India used electricity for lighting while 42% used kerosene.

Also read: India is a nation of two planets: the rich and the poor

Don’t ever ask where on earth Gabon is