National Sample Survey 2007-2008 (64th round) - Schedule 1.0 - Consumer Expenditure

Block 1 - Identification of sample household and Block 2 - Particulars of field operations

Block 1: Identification of sample household: items 1, 4 to 12: The identification particulars for items 1, 4-12 will be copied from the corresponding items of Block 1 of the listing schedule (Schedule 0.0). The particulars to be recorded in items 2 and 3 have already been printed in the schedule.

Block 2: Particulars of field operations: The identity of the Investigator, Senior Investigator, Superintendent and Senior Superintendent or other supervisory officer associated with the work, date of survey/inspection/scrutiny of schedules, date of despatch, etc., will be recorded in this block against the appropriate items in the relevant columns. Besides, from the 46th round onwards, person codes of field officials have been introduced which are to be recorded against item 1(ii) (for Central sample only). If canvassing the schedule takes more than one day, the first day of survey is to be recorded against the item srl. no. 2(i). The "total time taken to canvass the schedule" means the actual time spent in canvassing the schedule and will not include the time taken by the investigator/senior investigator to finalise the schedule. It is recorded in minutes.

Block 3: Household characteristics:
Characteristics which are mainly intended to be used to classify the households for tabulation will be recorded in this block.

Block 4: Demographic and other particulars of household members:
All members of the sample household will be listed in this block. For each member, name, relation to head, sex, age, marital status, general education level, and particulars of meals consumed will be recorded.

Blocks 5 and 6: Blocks on Consumer Expenditure: Information on consumer expenditure on various items/groups of items will be collected in these blocks.

Block 5 : Consumption of food, pan, tobacco and intoxicants during the last 30 days
Block 6 : Consumption of fuel for cooking, lighting and other purposes excluding conveyance during the last 30 days

BLOCK 5:

In this block information on consumption of each item of cereals, pulses, milk, sugar and salt by the household will be collected for a reference period of 30 days preceding the date of survey.

In general, the Use Approach (see page C-1) is followed for food, pan, tobacco and intoxicants. However, there are some special rules for meals which are obtained by the sample household in cooked form from outside, or cooked by the household and served to non-members.

When a person consumes meals cooked in a different household from his own, the preparing household is considered to be the consuming household. This is, obviously, a departure from the Use Approach. Thus, when a guest or a beggar is served food prepared in a household H, it is household H which is considered as the consuming household. Also, if a household H makes a payment to a person in the form of meals cooked in H's kitchen, it is considered to be the consumption of household H.

However, when a person consumes meals received as assistance from the Government or charitable organisation (e.g. meals received under the Midday Meal scheme), or as payment in kind from an organisation (except a household enterprise which serves the meals from the household kitchen), it is considered to be the consumption of the household to which the person receiving the meal belongs. (When recording such consumption, the value is to be imputed at the local price of the meals received and recorded against item 302: cooked meals received as assistance or payment.) This procedure is a departure from the practice followed earlier. It is not, however, a departure from the Use Approach followed for food generally.

The Use Approach is also to be followed for food in the case of a person (usually a student in a hostel) whose food bills are regularly paid by a person (usually, a parent) belonging to a different household. In past rounds, the Expenditure Approach was considered to be applicable in such cases.

When cooked meals are purchased from the market (hotels, restaurants, canteens or catering agency), the purchaser household is considered to be the consuming household, regardless of who eats the food (entry against item 303). This is a departure from the Use Approach. However, if the meals purchased are then used by the purchaser as means of payment (say, to the provider of a service), then they will be accounted in the household receiving the meals as payment (entry against item 302).

BLOCK 6:

This block will record information on consumption of fuel for cooking, lighting and other household purposes with the exception of conveyance during the 30 days prior to the date of survey. The columns are similar to those of Block 5.

The word "fuel" applied to a substance means that the substance is used for energy. Note that some items such as petrol and kerosene may be used for cleaning as well as for energy. In this block, only the part used for energy, excluding use in vehicles, will be recorded.

The amount of petrol, kerosene, etc. used in vehicles will be reported in the conveyance sub-group of Block 10. The amount used for cleaning purposes may be entered in item 473 of the "household consumables" sub-group of Block 10.

Blocks 7 and 8: Blocks on Consumer Expenditure: Information on consumer expenditure on various items/groups of items will be collected in these blocks.

Block 7 : Consumption of clothing, bedding, etc. during the last 365 days
Block 8 : Consumption of footwear during the last 365 days

BLOCK 7:

In this block, information on quantity and value of consumption of all items of clothing will be collected. The information in this block is required to be collected for a reference period of last 365 days.

For items of clothing, bedding and footwear, consumption of an item is said to occur when it is first used. Consumption is accounted in the household of the person who is the first user.

An exception is made in case of second-hand purchase of clothing and footwear. Second-hand purchase of clothing or footwear occurs when an item of clothing is purchased by a household after it has been used by another household, without alteration. When such a purchase occurs, we say that consumption (out of second-hand purchase) has occurred at the moment of purchase. That is, in case of second-hand purchase, the use approach is not followed; in other words, whether the purchased item has been used or not after purchase is not relevant.

Entries regarding consumption of clothing items will be the total of consumption out of purchase, out of home produce, out of transfer receipts such as gift, charity, and out of receipts in exchange of goods or services, etc. Care should, however, be taken to exclude purchases made on account of household productive enterprises.

Clothing purchased first-hand will be reported against items 360 to 373. In case of second-hand purchase, the total value of clothing purchased second-hand will be recorded against item 374.

Imported second-hand ready-made garments will be treated not as second-hand but as first-hand purchase and as such will be included against item 368. Livery supplied by the employer will be taken into account even if used during duty hours only.

BLOCK 8:

While filling in this block on purchase and consumption of footwear, the general instructions given for filling in the block on clothing will be followed. The quantity (number of pairs) and value (Rs.) to be recorded are to be entered in whole number only. The reference period is 365 days. All footwear purchased second-hand during this period will be recorded against "footwear: second-hand" (item 395).

Note: 1. If materials are purchased and footwear is got made by a cobbler, the cost of footwear will be imputed as the cost of raw materials plus service charges paid to the cobbler.
2. If a one-legged person purchases or gets made only one shoe, quantity will be taken as one pair.
3. Plastic footwear will be included against item 393: rubber/PVC footwear.
4. Straps for slippers will not be included in this block. Such items will be included in Block 10 (item 473: other petty articles).

Blocks 9 and 10: Blocks on Consumer Expenditure: Information on consumer expenditure on various items/groups of items will be collected in these blocks.

Block 9 : Expenditure on education and medical (institutional) goods and services during the last 365 day
Block 10 : Expenditure on miscellaneous goods and services including medical (non-institutional), rents and taxes during the last 30 days

Blocks 9, 10 (and 11) relate to education and medical care, miscellaneous goods and services, and durable goods. All three blocks are governed by the expenditure approach. The expenditure approach says that consumption of these items takes place when expenditure is incurred on the item (good or service). The household incurring the expenditure is the consuming household, regardless of whether the item is used by the household or not.

When a household H obtains an item as gift or charity, or by free collection, no expenditure is incurred by the household H on the item.

When a household W obtains an item as perquisite from the employer, or as payment in kind from a household or enterprise for services rendered by W, then W is considered to incur an expenditure on the item received as perquisite or payment in kind. The value of the item at local retail prices is considered to be the amount of expenditure incurred by W. Examples are accommodation, newspapers and telephone services provided free to employees by employers, and any expenses on domestic account, such as medical expenses, that are reimbursed by employers. Leave Travel Concession (LTC) is another example of perquisites.

Credit purchase: In case of credit purchase of any item of Blocks 9, 10 or 11, the actual expenditure made during the reference period will be recorded. If any payment is made during the reference period for any credit purchase made earlier, then that amount will also be included. If the household makes a lumpsum payment against the credit purchase of several items, apportionment will be made for each of the items in proportion to their value.

When a household H acquires an item through cash purchase, the time of incurring expenditure is clear. In case of payment by cheque or through a credit card, the household is considered to incur expenditure at the moment when the cheque is handed over (or sent by post) or the credit card is presented to the seller as means of payment. If the seller agrees to accept payment in instalments, it is called hire purchase. In case of hire purchase, only the payment made to the seller during the reference period is regarded as the expenditure incurred. Note that in case of purchase (e.g. of a car) fully financed by a loan from some person or enterprise other than the seller, where full payment is made to the seller, the entire sale value of the commodity (the principal borrowed to make the payment to the seller) is considered to be the expenditure incurred by the household. This expenditure (payment to the seller) takes place before the durable comes into the buyer?s possession, not after. On the other hand, the repayment of the loan in instalments to the financier goes on for several months or years. The repayment of the loan to the financier is not relevant in recording consumer expenditure.

BLOCK 9:

In this block, information will be collected on educational and institutional medical expenses incurred during the last 365 days preceding the date of survey. The institutional category will include payments made for goods and services availed of as an inpatient in both private as well as Government medical institutions like nursing homes, hospitals, etc. All other medical expenses will be treated under non-institutional category and will be recorded separately in Block 10. The amount of medical insurance premium paid by the household during the last 365 days is to be recorded under item 410. This item has been placed in Block 9 to avoid errors in use of reference period, although such expenditure is not incurred as in-patient of a medical institution. The amount of premium will not, however, be used to compute household consumer expenditure.

BLOCK 10:

In this block, information will be collected on the expenditure for purchase of miscellaneous goods and services during the last 30 days prior to the date of survey. If some goods are purchased for gift or transfer, it is to be accounted against the payer household and not against the recipient household.

Block 11 - Expenditure for purchase and construction (including repair and maintenance) of durable goods for domestic use during the last 365 days

Blocks (9, 10 and) 11 relate to education and medical care, miscellaneous goods and services, and durable goods. All three blocks are governed by the expenditure approach. The expenditure approach says that consumption of these items takes place when expenditure is incurred on the item (good or service). The household incurring the expenditure is the consuming household, regardless of whether the item is used by the household or not.

When a household H obtains an item as gift or charity, or by free collection, no expenditure is incurred by the household H on the item.

When a household W obtains an item as perquisite from the employer, or as payment in kind from a household or enterprise for services rendered by W, then W is considered to incur an expenditure on the item received as perquisite or payment in kind. The value of the item at local retail prices is considered to be the amount of expenditure incurred by W. Examples are accommodation, newspapers and telephone services provided free to employees by employers, and any expenses on domestic account, such as medical expenses, that are reimbursed by employers. Leave Travel Concession (LTC) is another example of perquisites.

Credit purchase: In case of credit purchase of any item of Blocks 9, 10 or 11, the actual expenditure made during the reference period will be recorded. If any payment is made during the reference period for any credit purchase made earlier, then that amount will also be included. If the household makes a lumpsum payment against the credit purchase of several items, apportionment will be made for each of the items in proportion to their value.

When a household H acquires an item through cash purchase, the time of incurring expenditure is clear. In case of payment by cheque or through a credit card, the household is considered to incur expenditure at the moment when the cheque is handed over (or sent by post) or the credit card is presented to the seller as means of payment. If the seller agrees to accept payment in instalments, it is called hire purchase. In case of hire purchase, only the payment made to the seller during the reference period is regarded as the expenditure incurred. Note that in case of purchase (e.g. of a car) fully financed by a loan from some person or enterprise other than the seller, where full payment is made to the seller, the entire sale value of the commodity (the principal borrowed to make the payment to the seller) is considered to be the expenditure incurred by the household. This expenditure (payment to the seller) takes place before the durable comes into the buyer's possession, not after. On the other hand, the repayment of the loan in instalments to the financier goes on for several months or years. The repayment of the loan to the financier is not relevant in recording consumer expenditure.


Information on expenditure incurred for purchase and cost of raw materials and services for construction and repairs of durable goods for domestic use will be collected in this block for the last 365 days. Expenditure will include both cash and kind. Purchase will include both first-hand and second-hand purchase and will be recorded in separate columns of this block. A purchase will qualify for consideration in this block only if some expenditure - whether in cash or kind or both - is incurred towards the purchase during the reference period. Expenditure incurred on purchase of durable goods for gifts or transfer is to be included in the giver household and not against the recipient household. In case of credit purchase or hire-purchase of any item of this block, the actual expenditure made during the reference period will be recorded. Expenditure on each item in this block will also be recorded in whole number of rupees. The following points may be noted:
1. The time at which the item purchased comes into the possession of the household is not relevant. If the sample household incurred some expenditure on purchase of an asset during the reference period, then the expenditure incurred will be accounted in this block even if the household has not yet received it till the date of survey. Likewise, suppose a sample household acquired an asset (durable goods) during the reference period and it is in possession of the household but no payment has been made during the reference period. Such purchases are to be excluded.
2. Purchases made by the household during the reference period using a credit card will be included.
3. Suppose an asset purchased during the reference period for domestic use, had been sold out during the reference period. Such a purchase will also be accounted.