Onion prices continue to be high. Potatoes are dear. Ditto for tomatoes. There is no bargain to be had even on seasonal stuff like ‘gulabi gaajar’, cauliflower and peas. Non-vegetarians are feeling the pain, too. But chew on this -- the economic survey tabled in Parliament on Friday claims that the common man paid less for their thali in 2019-20 than they did in 2006-07.
The survey claims the financial year 2015-16 could be considered as a year when there was a shift in the dynamics of their prices because of many reforms since 2014-15 to increase the productivity of the agriculture sector as well as efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural markets for better and more transparent price discovery.
"Both, across India and in the four zones -- north, south, east and west -- it is found that the absolute prices of a vegetarian thali have decreased significantly since 2015-16, though the prices have increased in 2019," the survey said.
There is a whole chapter devoted to the subject, euphemistically titled, "Through Thalinomics -- The Economics of a Plate of Food in India." It analyses data from the consumer price index (CPI) for industrial workers for around 80 centres in 25 states/union territories from April 2006 to October 2019 to arrive at the cost of a 'thali'
It drew the comparison by using the annual earnings of an average industrial workers to claim the affordability of vegetarian thali improved 29 per cent from 2006-07 to 2019-20 while that of the non-vegetarian thali improved by 18 per cent.
So, what was on the thali surveyed? A vegetable thali comprising a serving of cereals, sabzi and dal and a nonvegetarian thali comprising cereals, sabzi and a non-vegetarian dish.
"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 explains. Jayashree Balasubramanian, director, communication, at the waminathan Foundation tweeted: "Vegetarian Thali…Cereals (300 gm), vegetables (150 gm) & pulses (60 gm)... and "potato, onion, tomato…as staple vegetables" - tell me, this is a typical rural diet & I will eat my plate. Definitely not rural India.
“And note, we are low, really low down on the global hunger index.
1. Why do #thalinomics during the Economic Survey?
2. If at all you are doing it, calculate the value of a nutritious balanced meal - or at least a realistic one! @Ra_Avishek: “Why is it that government data and “reality” is always at loggerheads! I remember Nobel laureate #AbhijitBanerjee stating there is no mechanism in India to capture data of the informal sector of the economy...”@milton_pandey: “The chapter on Thalinomics in Economic survey is cringe worthy…Straight up Pakodanomics #Budget2020” @mydream33309543: “Thalinomics... A joke on malnourished hungry Indians
