Congress cites household expenditure data to slam Govt, says youth crying out for remedial action
The Congress party has criticized the government, citing CMIE household expenditure data to argue that rising education costs are outpacing income growth. The party claims that the recent youth protests are driven by fundamental issues of affordability and accessibility in the education sector.
Why it matters
The analysis highlights growing economic pressure on Indian households regarding education, which serves as a significant political flashpoint regarding government policy and social welfare.
The Congress on Sunday (July 26, 2026) said the Jantar Mantar and other protests in recent weeks have had proximate causes in a rigged exam system but the agony and anger of youth and their parents have more fundamental causes of both accessibility and affordability revealed by household expenditure data.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the youth and their parents are crying out for remedial action on accessibility and affordability.
"The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has very recently done a detailed analysis based on its household expenditure data between 2014/15-2025/26. The conclusions are stark. Education costs are rising substantially faster than household income. Households are allocating a considerably larger share of their income towards education.”
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