In terms of calories per rupee, the millets (jowar and bajra) were clearly the best buy. Yet only about two-thirds of the total spending on grains was on these grains, while another 30 percent was spent on rice and wheat, which cost on average about twice as much per calorie. In addition, the poor spent almost 5 percent of their total budget on sugar, which is both more expensive than grains as a source of calories and bereft of other nutritional value.
