Household savings declines to 22.3% in 2011-12: RBI

03 May 2013 Evaluate

Expressing concerns over steadily falling savings and investment rates, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its annual Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments report, highlighted that financial savings by households, which slipped to 22.3% in 2011-12 was mainly on account of households resorting to physical assets as a hedge against inflation.

As per the report, household savings declined from a high 25.2% in 2009-10 to 22.3% in 2011-12. It had stood at 23.5% in 2010-11. On the other hand, savings in physical assets continued its steady rise and touched 14.3% in the reporting year from 13.1% a year before and 13.2% in 2009-10.   

Apart from this, persistence of high inflation with average headline inflation at about 9% in 2011-12 withered financial savings as households attempted to stave off the downward pressure on their real consumption. The report also notes with concern that the core sectors-public and private witnessed a slowdown in savings, apart from an overall decline in investment rates during 2011-12.

The decline in savings was more visible in the private corporates, at 7.2% in the 2011-12 from 7.9% a year before and 8.4% in 2009-10. On the other hand, the public sector fared a tad better with their savings rate at 1.3%, declined from 2.6% the year before but a steady improvement from the dismal 0.2% in 2009-10.

Regarding the investment, the report said that the decline in the rate of investment in 2011-12 was mainly due to decline in the investment rate of private corporate sector followed by that of the public sector even as the household investment rate increased. ‘The increase in investment in valuables continued in 2011-12 and exhibited a sharper rise, partly contributing to the high current account deficit in 2011-12’ it added.

Further, the report said that the gross capital formation declined to 35.5% in the reporting period from 36.8% in 2010-11 and 36.5% in 2009-10. The households kept on parking their money in physical assets, there was a tangible increase in the gross capital formation by households to 14.3% during the reporting period, up from 13.1% in 2010-11 and 13.2% in 2009-10.

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