₹5 trillion, or nearly 6%. It fell by a more modest ₹2 trillion (1.7%) in terms of current rather than constant prices. Second, nominal spending on some items such as food, utilities, health and communications went up, despite the overall decline in consumer spending.
The money spent on education remained more or less steady. The data on output suggests that households cut back on items such as clothing, footwear, restaurants and transport, partly because of the restrictions imposed on mobility during various lockdowns.
Third, even as the gross savings of Indian households went up by ₹4.61 trillion in nominal terms, the distribution of these savings between financial and physical savings tells an important story.
Gross financial savings increased by ₹7.09 trillion while savings in physical assets declined by ₹2.25 trillion. The money spent on precious metals such as gold and silver was more or less the same. (Note: Households include unincorporated enterprises in the informal sector.) The sharp increase in gross financial savings by households in 2020-21 was partly forced by the harsh lockdown in the early months of the pandemic.