The per capita monthly income, a measure to assess standard of living, grew at a slower rate of 13.7 percent to Rs 5,130 in 2011-12 at current prices compared to Rs 4,513 in 2010-11.

“The per capita income at current prices is estimated at Rs 61,564 (per annum) in 2011-12 as against Rs 54,151 for the previous year depicting a growth of 13.7 percent, as against an increase of 17.1 percent during the previous year”, said the revised data of national accounts released here today.

On the Gross Domestic Saving (GDS) front, the data revealed that the growth at current prices in 2011-12 slowed to 30.8 percent of GDP at market prices as against 34 percent in the previous year.

The GDS is estimated at Rs 27,65,291 during last fiscal crore as against Rs 26,51,934 crore in 2010-11.

The slower growth in GDS has been mainly due to decline in financial savings of household sector from 10.4 percent to 8 percent, private corporate sector from 7.9 percent to 7.2 percent and that of public sector from 2.6 percent to 1.3 percent in 2011-12 as compared to 2010-11.

The rate of Gross Capital Formation at current prices is 35.0 percent in 2011-12 as against 36.8 percent in 2010-11. The gross domestic capital formation has increased from Rs 28,71,649 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 31,41,465 crore in 2011-12 at current prices.

It further revealed that the per capita private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) at current prices in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs 42,065 as against Rs 36,677 in the year 2010-11, showing an increase of 14.7 percent as against an increase of 15.7 percent in the previous year.

Government today revised downward the economic growth for fiscal 2011-12 to 6.2 per cent from the earlier estimate of 6.5 per cent.

However, as per the first revised estimates of National Income, Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital Formation, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the fiscal 2010-11 has been revised upwards to 9.3 per cent from 8.4 per cent.

“GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs 52,43,582 crore as against Rs 49,37,006 crore in 2010-11, registering a growth of 6.2 per cent during the year as against a growth of 9.3 per cent in
the year 2010-11,” the estimates showed.
The estimates were released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for 2011-12, along with second revised estimates for the year 2010-11 and third revised estimates for 2009-10.

At current prices, CSO said, GDP in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs 83,53,495 crore as against Rs 72,66,967 crore in 2010-11, showing an increase of 15 per cent, as against an increase of 19 per cent in the previous fiscal.

The CSO said that the per capita income in real terms (at 2004-05 prices), is estimated at Rs 38,037 for 2011-12 as against Rs 36,342 in 2010-11, registering an increase of 4.7 per cent during the year, as against an increase of 7.2 per cent during the previous year.
The per capita income at current prices is estimated at Rs 61,564 in 2011-12 as against Rs 54,151 for the previous year depicting a growth of 13.7 per cent, as against an increase of 17.1 per cent during the previous year.

The data further further said that the growth in the GDP during 2011-12 has been achieved due to expansion in financing, insurance, real estate and business services (11.7 per cent), transport, storage and communication (8.4 per cent), electricity, gas and water supply (6.5 per cent) and trade, hotels and restaurants (6.2 per cent).

On the Gross Domestic Saving (GDS) front, the growth at current prices in 2011-12 slowed to 30.8 per cent of GDP at market prices as against 34 per cent in the previous year.

The GDS is estimated at Rs 27,65,291 during last fiscal crore as against Rs 26,51,934 crore in 2010-11.

Citigroup Inc is looking to pull out of consumer banking in more countries in an effort to lower costs and boost profits, according to two people familiar with the matter.

In December, Citigroup said it was withdrawing from consumer banking in five countries – Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania, Turkey and Uruguay – as part of an expense reduction plan that will save USD 1.1 billion a year and eliminate 11,000 jobs. The cuts were one of Michael Corbat’s first major steps as chief executive, a position he took in October.

“There is more on the list,” said a source familiar with the situation.

The bank has been looking for months at countries, customer segments and products to cut, the source said, but declined to name any of the additional countries.

Sean Kevelighan, a Citigroup spokesman, said the bank is focused on major cities with the highest growth potential for its consumer business and will continue to invest in its franchise and optimize its assets.

Citigroup is one of the most international of U.S. banks, serving consumers in 40 countries out of the 100 in which it has some kind of presence.

Any cuts would likely represent a paring of the portfolio rather than a complete rethinking of the bank’s commitment to global consumer banking.

Outside the United States, just three countries – Mexico, South Korea and Australia – account for half of the company’s loans to consumers and the bank’s presence in many other countries is tiny.

Investors said scaling down in some markets makes sense.

“If they’re not going to have a significant presence, they shouldn’t be there,” said Mark Mandell, portfolio manager at Dalton Investments, which has USD 1.8 billion under management and owns Citigroup shares.

Selling any of the foreign assets now would be tough. Other lenders around the world have also been closing foreign outposts and buyers can be hard to find. London-based HSBC Holdings Plc , for example, has sold more than 40 businesses and other assets, such as credit card portfolios, globally since 2011, but it has sometimes been a struggle to get the prices it wanted.

Citigroup has some extra complications, too. The bank is using about half its capital to support bad assets and tax benefits related to its huge losses during the financial crisis.

Indians are cutting down on discretionary purchases like apparel, electronics and automobiles as consumer optimism in the country is on a decline, according to an emerging markets consumer survey report by Credit Suisse.

High inflation and slower growth continues to worry Indian consumers with more people expecting lower salary increases, said the survey, which interviewed 2,602 respondents across 10 cities and rural areas in India.

This is in sharp contrast with other fast-growing economies like Indonesia, where the increase in minimum wages is likely to keep consumer sentiment robust, and in China, where sentiment remains strong on the back of purchases by consumers from lower income groups, the report released on Wednesday said.

“There are signs of down trading in discretionary items in India. Fewer people are buying smartphones and more now want to buy an entry-level car,” said Arnab Mitra, research analyst with Credit Suisse.

“More and more consumers are postponing big-ticket purchases.. This situation will take more than a couple of quarters to improve,” he said.

Last week, investors knocked down shares of India’s largest consumer company Hindustan Unilever   by 5 percent after the it reported weak volume growth as consumers cut purchases of products such as packaged foods and personal care items.

The report, however, said the long-term growth potential in India remained intact due to low product penetration in most categories.

The euro climbed to a 14-month high and gold rallied on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left its monthly USD 85 billion bond-buying stimulus plan in place.

US stocks pulled back after the Fed announcement but investors said that was more a reaction to gains in recent months. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is on track to post its best month since October 2011 and its best January since 1997.

The Fed said economic growth had stalled but indicated the pullback was likely temporary, describing the nation’s job market as continuing its modest pace of improvement. It repeated a pledge to keep purchasing securities until the outlook for employment improves substantially.

A report earlier in the day showing the US economy contracted in the fourth quarter had already bolstered expectations the Fed would continue its easy monetary policy.

GDP data, which showed the world’s largest economy in the fourth quarter unexpectedly suffered its first decline since the 2007-09 recession, supported that expectation. Gross domestic product fell at a 0.1 percent annual rate after growing at a 3.1 percent clip in the third quarter.

“There is nothing obvious in the FOMC text that is going to result in a change in key market trends,” Alan Ruskin, head of G10 FX strategy at Deutsche Bank in New York, said in reference to the Fed policy committee’s statement.

The euro was last at USD 1.3563, after climbing above 1.35 for the first time since December 2011. Spot gold prices up USD 12.01, or 0.72 percent, to USD 1675.40.

Easy US monetary policy adds to the attractiveness of the euro compared with the dollar. In recent years investors would buy the dollar as a safer haven on bad economic data, but at least on Wednesday, they saw the euro as a better bet.

Gold rose on the poor GDP data and added to gains as it became cheaper for investors using currencies other than the dollar to buy.

The US GDP data also overshadowed a third straight rise in European economic confidence, an increase in European Central Bank crisis loan repayments and a solid sale of five- and 10-year Italian bonds, which provided fresh evidence of the recent improvement in the region.