What’s in new India’s consumption basket: Airpods, playstations, online streaming & more

New Delhi: Playstations, AirPods, power banks and sanitisers have found a place in the government’s basket of goods – ownership data on these items has been collected for the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), updating a list that nevertheless still contains a few things that are obsolete such as VCRs.

The survey collected information on the quantity and value of items purchased or hired by households in FY23, while also checking if they were acquired first-hand or second-hand.

It also included information on the cost of repair and maintenance of these items.

Playstations are clubbed with recreational appliances such as home theatre systems and radios, along with items such as VCR, VCD and DVD players. AirPods are classified as items of personal use along with headphones, earphones, ear pods, Bluetooth devices, speakers, etc.

Power banks are in the list of other personal goods categories with hair dryers, straighteners, curlers, trimmers, groomers, epilators, etc.

All these are classified under the broader head of durable goods, the share of which increased to 6.9% in FY23 in rural areas from 4.9% in FY12, according to HCES findings released last week. In urban areas, their consumption went up to 7.2% from 5.6%. Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services are also tracked in the new series, alongside expenditure on e-books, audiobooks and online learning courses. The share of entertainment in rural areas increased to 1.09% in FY23 from 0.99% in FY12. However, for urban areas, the share declined to 1.58% from 1.61%.For sanitisers, which have become commonplace after the pandemic, the government tracked monthly expenditures.

The new consumer price index will be constructed on the basis of HCES data.

“The methodology is progressive and more representative of the consumption patterns which are changing – hence, quite comprehensive,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda.

Wider Ownership Patterns
The ministry released an HCSE factsheet on February 24. The final results are expected to provide a detailed picture of household ownership across income and social categories. Households were quizzed on ownership of TVs, radios, laptops, PCs, mobile handsets, cars, motorcycles, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners.

(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)