India (All India 1)
Official title
Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and covers households of agricultural
labourers (i.e. agricultural labourers employed for wages in the
processes of crop production) and their dependants.
Official base
July 1960-June 1961 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights were derived from consumer expenditure data obtained through
the Second Agricultural Labour Enquiry conducted from August 1956 to
August 1957 and covering 7,800 households. The weights were not
adjusted to take into account the difference in price levels between
1956-57 and 1960-61. Items selected for inclusion in the index are
those which are relatively important in family spending, which have
distinctive price movements and which are representative of a larger
group of related items. Expenditure on items which could not be
included was imputed to other items or groups.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 37 | 78.1 | ...
|
| Fuel and light
| 4 | 8.0 | ...
|
| Clothing, footwear and bedding
| 11 | 6.1 | ...
|
| Miscellaneous
| 10 | 7.8 | ...
|
| Total
| 62 | 100.0 | ...
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index comprises
only goods and services which are relatively important in
household expenditure. Expenditure on ceremonials and the cost of
repairs to buildings and of land are not included.
Method of data collection
Retail prices are collected each month by the field staff of the
National Sample Survey from shops and markets in 422 sample
villages. The date of price collection is the first market day
or the first Saturday every month. Whenever the selected
items are available at fair-price shops, fair-price quotations
are also obtained.
Housing
As expenditure on house rent is nil or negligible, it is
excluded.
Specification of varieties
Detailed specifications of items to be priced were fixed for each of the
422 sample villages on the basis of information collected during a
special inquiry conducted in these villages during July-September 1960.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If possible, quality adjustments are made whenever the characteristics
of a product are altered. The linking method is also used in some
cases.
Seasonal items
Seasonal items are not included in the index.
Computation
The country-wide index is computed as the weighted average of the
separate indices for agricultural labourers for 15
individual States (including groups of smaller States/Union
Territories).
The index for each State is computed according to the
Laspeyres formula as a weighted arithmetic average with fixed base,
using weights corresponding to August 1956-August 1957. These indices
are then weighted to obtain the country-wide index, using weights
corresponding to the aggregate consumption expenditure of the population
group represented by each State.
Organisation and publication
Ministry of Labour, Labour Bureau: Indian Labour Journal
(Simla).
Ministry of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation: Indian
Labour Journal
(Simla, Dec. 1962 and Oct. 1968).