MUMBAI: Rural India spends about three times more on alcohol (Rs 140) and tobacco (Rs 196) than healthcare (Rs 56) each month. And Rs 500, which could perhaps be the price of a meal for two at McDonald's, is what an average rural household spends every month on fast-moving consumer goods ( FMCG ) like foods items, soaps, detergents, shampoos and hair oil. According to a survey, shared exclusively with TOI, the monthly expenditure on other items including medicines in rural India is restricted to Rs 196.The report showcasing consumption patterns reveals that a rural household spends Rs 504 a month on FMCG products, roughly 18% of the total monthly budget of Rs 2,800. Of this, food products contribute a major chunk -55% or Rs 280. Skincare and cosmetics are still a luxury with a monthly average spend of Rs 36, according to the rural establish ment report by Chrome Data Analytics & Media (Chrome DM), a primary research and data analytics company .Total monthly spend on FMCG is higher as compared to expenditure on milk (Rs 224) and petro for agriculture services (Rs 308), the survey reveals. “Rural households rely heavily on the milk produced by the cattle that they own,“ said Pankaj Krishna, MD, Chrome DM, “As for the low expenditure on healthcare, rural India still prefers domestic cure and natural home remedies over medicine.“The survey, conducted in 50,000 villages across 19 states, says merely 1% of the households spend more than Rs 1,000 a year on skincare and cosmetics, while a majority (63%) spends less than Rs 400 a year on this category .Krishna says skincare products are still part of luxury budget in rural India, and spending on the category is affected by low disposable income. There is also an availability issue of the brands. According to the report, 17% use unbranded skin products, while 21% of the households do not use any skincare product whatsoever.Jean-Christophe Letellier, MD, L'Oreal India, said Rs 36 per month per rural household on skincare and cosmetics is a fair assessment. “Two years ago, the number would have been lower for a rural household. In comparison, an average urban household spends Rs 150 per month on skincare and cosmetics. So, it's four times the rural spends as of now. If you take just the middle class urban consumer, the spend would drop to half (Rs 75 per month per household). It is still double the rural spends. When we talk about shifting consumption, India is slowly but surely following an upgradation process on beauty categories in general,“ said Letellier.On rurbanisation -rural markets acting like and evolving into urban markets -Letellier said, “We see a slow but regular upgradation of rural consumers acting as urban consumers. The rural part of India is relatively dynamic even though the monsoon has been bad (for two previous years). In our categories, the rural market is growing structurally faster than urban markets.“It is mostly low-unit price packs and accessible formats like product sachets that are sold in rural areas. Rural regions contribute nearly 36% to the overall Rs 3,20,000-crore FMCG market. The Chrome DM report, which represents over 300 million rural consumers, covers their behaviour and habits and was conducted over 15 months.