National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) conducts survey on Household Consumption Expenditure at regular intervals wherein information on consumption of food and non-food items by the household are collected. The latest survey on Household Consumption Expenditure (HCES: 2023-24) was conducted during August, 2023 – July, 2024 and the findings of the same was published in the month of January, 2025. NSO is committed to ensuring accurate and reliable data from the target population while minimizing non-sampling errors. The primary data collection is being done in digital platform using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) or web-based application with in-built validation mechanism to ensure consistency at the stage of data collection. The accuracy of the data is ensured by multi-level data scrutiny and validation checks. It enhances the efficiency of data collection by enabling real-time data entry and validation significantly reducing manual errors. Implementation of built-in data validation checks helps to flag implausible or inconsistent responses, such as extreme values or patterns that don’t match typical spending behaviors.
In the surveys of Household Consumption Expenditure conducted during 2022-23 & 2023-24, the information on around 405 items of food and non-food consumed by the household are collected. The following are the broad categories in which information was collected:
- Cereals and cereal substitutes
- Pulses and its products
- Salt & sugar
- Milk and its products
- Vegetables
- Fruits (fresh & dry)
- Egg, fish & meat
- Edible oil
- Spices
- Beverages
- Packed and Served processed food
- Pan, tobacco & intoxicants
- Fuel & light
- Toilet articles & other household consumables
- Education
- Medical (hospitalization & non-hospitalization)
- Consumer service excluding conveyance
- Conveyance
- Entertainment
- Rent
- Other taxes & cesses
- Clothing, bedding & footwear
- Durable goods
List of items which were added in the item basket of HCES: 2022-23 & 2023-24 is given below:
| SI. No. | Questionnaire | Sub-group | Items added |
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Questionnaire FDQ (Food items) | Fruits (dry) | Almond, pistachio, hazelnut with other nuts
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Packed processed food |
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Questionnaire CSQ (Consumables & services)
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Toilet articles
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Questionnaire DGQ (Durable items)
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Clothing
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Other personal goods |
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Sports & medical equipment
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Cooking & household appliances
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In order to make the sample of the survey representative, the survey was conducted throughout the whole Indian territory (except some inaccessible villages of Andaman & Nicobar Islands) comprising rural and urban India. In the rural areas, villages are considered as first stage units which is based on Census 2011 population (projected by applying suitable growth rates) and in the urban areas, blocks are considered as first stage units which is based on latest Urban Frame Survey (updated in 5-year interval). The sample is selected from all the States/UTs and the smallest sampling unit is FSU which is villages or part of village in the rural areas and urban blocks or part of urban blocks in urban areas. These samples are selected randomly using statistical methodology (SRSWOR). The households are the ultimate unit from which the information will be collected. For this survey, three different stratifications have been formed to classify the households separately for rural and urban areas. In the rural areas, the households are classified into three groups based on land possession while in the urban areas, ownership of a car has been considered to categories the households. The following three stratifications have been formed:
| SSS | Rural | Urban |
| SSS 1 | Households with land possessed > X, where X is such that 5% of the households had land possessed more that X as per NSS 77th round SAS survey. This was determined at State/UT level | Households owned one or more four-wheeler cars for non-commercial use as on date of listing whose combined purchase price was more than Rupees 10 lakhs |
| SSS 2 | Households with land possessed > Y and less than or equal to X, where Y is such that 20% of the households had land possessed more that Y as per NSS 77th round SAS survey. This was determined at State/UT level | Households owned one or more four-wheeler cars for non-commercial use as on date of listing whose combined purchase price was less than or equal to Rupees 10 lakhs |
| SSS 3 | Remaining households | Remaining households |
This information was given by the Minister of State (I/C) for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Ministry of Planning and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today
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Samrat/Dheeraj/Allan
