Lok Sabha Question No. 980 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-10
Subject: Household Savings and Liabilities
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Ms Sayani Ghosh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 980

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 FEBRUARY 2025

## HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS AND LIABILITIES

## 980. Ms Sayani Ghosh

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) the per capita household debt in the country during the last ten years, year-wise;
- (b) the details of the households' savings as a percentage of GDP during the last ten years, yearwise;
- (c) whether it is a fact that household liabilities have increased during the last five years, if so, the details of the household liabilities as a percentage of GDP during the last ten years;
- (d) whether the Government recognises 'middle class' as a category of consumers, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government has taken note that the middle class is the worst affected consumer leading to a 'shrinking middle class' syndrome, if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

- (a) As per Reserve Bank of India, the data on stock of household financial liabilities is available from March 2019. Accordingly, the data on per capita household financial liabilities  from March 2019 to March 2024 are placed in Annexure A.
- (b) As  per  National  Account  Statistics  released  by  the  Ministry  of  Statistics  and  Programme Implementation,  the  latest  available  data  on  household  savings  is  for  the  year  2022-23. Accordingly, household savings as a percentage of GDP from 2014-15 to 2022-23 is placed in Annexure-B.
- (c) As  per  Reserve  Bank  of  India,  the  data  on  the  stock  of  household  financial  liabilities  is available  from  March  2019.  Accordingly,  the  data  on  household  financial  liabilities  as  a percentage of GDP from March 2019 to March 2024 are placed in Annexure-C.
- (d) & (e): The Government has proposed significant measures in the Union Budget 2025-26 to enhance the spending power of the middle class. In a major reform measure, the Union Budget has proposed that there will be no income tax payable upto income of ₹12 lakh under the new tax regime. The Budget has also proposed a change in slabs and rates of personal income tax across the board to benefit taxpayers. The new structure is expected to substantially reduce the taxes of the middle class  and  leave  more  money  in  their  hands,  boosting  household  consumption,  savings  and investment. The other measures of the Government to benefit the middle class include enhanced pension schemes, support for affordable housing, public health schemes, financial backing for entrepreneurs, and initiatives to promote sustainable infrastructure. The Government does not have any information on the 'shrinking middle-class' syndrome.

## Annexure-A

|   As at end March | Per capita household financial liabilities (in ₹)   |
|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
|              2019 | 46,898                                              |
|              2020 | 52,090                                              |
|              2021 | 57,306                                              |
|              2022 | 63,000                                              |
|              2023 | 73,887                                              |
|              2024 | 86,713                                              |

Source: The data on the stock of household financial liabilities are sourced from RBI. The population estimates are sourced from National Account Statistics, MoSPI for calculating the per capita household financial liabilities.

## Annexure-B

## Annexure-C

| Year    |   Household savings (as per cent of GDP) |
|---------|------------------------------------------|
| 2013-14 |                                     20.3 |
| 2014-15 |                                     19.6 |
| 2015-16 |                                     18   |
| 2016-17 |                                     18.1 |
| 2017-18 |                                     19.3 |
| 2018-19 |                                     20.3 |
| 2019-20 |                                     19.1 |
| 2020-21 |                                     22.7 |
| 2021-22 |                                     20.1 |
| 2022-23 |                                     18.4 |

|   As at end March |   Household Financial Liabilities (as per cent of GDP) |
|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|              2019 |                                                   32.9 |
|              2020 |                                                   34.7 |
|              2021 |                                                   39.1 |
|              2022 |                                                   36.5 |
|              2023 |                                                   37.9 |
|              2024 |                                                   41   |