New Delhi: For the first time since 1947, average household expenditure on food in India has fallen by more than half, according to a paper prepared by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). According to the paper titled 'Changes in India's food consumption and policy implications: A comprehensive analysis of Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 and 2011-12', India's food consumption pattern is witnessing significant changes.

According to this paper, the share of total household expenditure on food has declined substantially in rural and urban areas across all states and union territories. It said, "This is the first time in modern India (since Independence) that the average household expenditure on food is less than half of the total monthly expenditure of households and this marks significant progress. Overall, there has been a significant increase in the average monthly per capita expenditure of households living in rural and urban areas across all states and union territories."

The amount of per capita expenditure varies across states and regions. This can also be understood in this way that while the consumption expenditure in rural areas of West Bengal has increased by 151 percent between 2011-12 and 2022-23, it was about 214 percent in Tamil Nadu. Sikkim witnessed a massive increase of 394 percent in consumption expenditure. Data shows that while the consumption growth of rural families was 164 percent, the consumption growth of urban families was 146 percent.

The paper suggests that agricultural policies should not be designed keeping only grains in mind. Policies like Minimum Support Price (MSP) have limited impact on the welfare of farmers. There has been a significant increase in household expenditure on packaged food. This increase has been seen in all sectors, but this increase is very high in the top 20 percent of households and in urban areas.