New Delhi (NVI): The affordability of vegetarian thalis has improved by 29 per cent from 2006-07 to 2019-20, and for non-vegetarian thalis, it has improved by 18 per cent in this period, as per the Economic Survey report tabled in the Parliament today.
The survey also shows that the affordability of thalis in relation to a day’s pay of a worker has improved over time, indicating improved welfare of the common person.
The conclusion has been drawn on the basis of “Thalinomics: the Economics of a plate of food in India” – an attempt to quantify what a common person pays for a Thali across India.
Using the dietary guidelines for Indians, the price of thalis are constructed.
The survey states that across India, including the four regions– North, South, East and West– it is found that the absolute prices of a vegetarian thali have decreased significantly since 2015-16 though the price has increased in 2019.
This is owing to the sharp downward trend in the prices of vegetables and dal in contrast to the previous trend of increasing prices. As a result, an average household of five individuals that eats two vegetarian thalis a day, gained around Rs 10,887, on average per year, while a non-vegetarian household gained Rs 11,787, on average per year.
The Survey also states that 2015-16 can be considered as a year when there was a shift in the dynamics of thali prices. Many reform measures were introduced since 2014-15 to enhance the productivity of the agricultural sector as well as efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural markets for better and more transparent price discovery.
The Economic Survey says that food is not just an end in itself but also an essential ingredient in the growth of human capital and therefore important for national wealth creation.
