New Delhi, March 20 -- Earlier this year, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released the report for the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) for the period August 2023 to July 2024. This is the second in the series of HCES data after the HCES 2022-23, for which a fact sheet was released just before the announcement of general elections in 2024. Its findings led to claims by the Niti Aayog that India had eliminated extreme poverty. Similar claims have been made after the release of HCES 2023-24.

The two back-to-back surveys are important data sources, with the HCES being a necessary input for India's statistical system. Two of our most important indicators of economic activity-National Accounts and price indices-are revised...