Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics & Programme Implementation Shri Rao Inderjit Singh has said that as per the recent survey of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on Household Consumer Expenditure conducted during July 2011 to June 2012, the average Monthly Per Capita Expenditure using Uniform Reference Period (URP) was estimated   as   ₹ 1279 in rural India and ₹ 2399 in urban India.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Shri Singh said, the details of estimated Average Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure on Food Items in rural areas using Uniform Reference Period are as under:

Period	In Rs.
2004-05	307.60
2009-10	497.09
2011-12	621.96

Per capita expenditure survey shows persistent rural-urban spending gap and rising rural food expenditure trends. Survey results report average monthly per capita consumer expenditure using the Uniform Reference Period as Rs. 1279 in rural India and Rs. 2399 in urban India, and provide rural average monthly food expenditure estimates for 2004 05, 2009 10 and 2011 12 showing an increasing trend.