Household Expenditure Dynamics in India and Punjab

Household expenditure is an important tool for measuring economic health and the standard of living in the nation. NSSO is a government department that collects data to study socio-economic situations. The objective of this study was to compare household expenditures in rural and urban India with those in Punjab. Secondary data sources were used to access various reports and government websites for this study. Descriptive and comparative analysis was done using Python and MS Excel. The analysis revealed that in India, there was a significant shift in expenditure patterns since 1999. Expenditure on food items had reduced, and expenditure on non-food items had improved. There was a considerable shift in the Urban area. Further, Punjab's urban economy has declined over time. Therefore, policies promoting investment and employment opportunities in the Tier 2 and 3 towns of Punjab were recommended to reduce migration pressure on large cities and bridge the urban-rural economic gap.