Food Consumption and Calorie Intake in Contemporary India

Abstract

This paper examines how the patterns of India’s food consumption have been changing in recent times as a consequence of its faster economic growth and generally rising affluence levels. The study, also, presents evidence on the nutritional implications of these changes to reinforce some of the findings on the observed changes in the food consumption patterns. The exercise estimates the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand Model (QAI) and presents elasticities that provide some explanation for these changes in India’s food consumption.