CHAPTER

Index Numbers

commodities have changed. Some

Studying this chapter should items have become costlier, while others
enable you to: have become cheaper. On his return
• understand the meaning of the from the market, he tells his father
term index number; about the change in price of the each
• become familiar with the use of and every item, he bought. It is
some widely used index bewildering to both.
numbers; The industrial sector consists of
• calculate an index number; many subsectors. Each of them is
• appreciate its limitations. changing. The output of some
subsectors are rising, while it is falling
1. INTRODUCTION in some subsectors. The changes are
not uniform. Description of the
You have learnt in the previous chapters individual rates of change will be
how summary measures can be difficult to understand. Can a single
obtained from a mass of data. Now you figure summarise these changes?
will learn how to obtain summary Look at the following cases:
measures of change in a group of
related variables. Case 1
Rabi goes to the market after a long An industrial worker was earning a
gap. He finds that the prices of most salary of Rs 1,000 in 1982. Today, he

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INDEX NUMBERS 91

earns Rs 12,000. Can his standard of in different sectors of an industry,

living be said to have risen 12 times production of various agricultural
during this period? By how much crops, cost of living etc.
should his salary be raised so that he
is as well off as before?

Case 2
You must be reading about the sensex
in the newspapers. The sensex crossing
8000 points is, indeed, greeted with
euphoria. When, sensex dipped 600
points recently, it eroded investors’
wealth by Rs 1,53,690 crores. What
exactly is sensex?

Case 3
The government says inflation rate will Conventionally, index numbers are
not accelerate due to the rise in the price expressed in terms of percentage. Of the
of petroleum products. How does one two periods, the period with which the
measure inflation? comparison is to be made, is known as
These are a sample of questions the base period. The value in the base
you confront in your daily life. A study period is given the index number 100.
of the index number helps in analysing If you want to know how much the
these questions. price has changed in 2005 from the
level in 1990, then 1990 becomes the
2. W HAT IS AN INDEX NUMBER base. The index number of any period
is in proportion with it. Thus an index
An index number is a statistical device
number of 250 indicates that the value
for measuring changes in the
is two and half times that of the base
magnitude of a group of related
variables. It represents the general period.
trend of diverging ratios, from which it Price index numbers measure and
is calculated. It is a measure of the permit comparison of the prices of
average change in a group of related certain goods. Quantity index numbers
variables over two different situations. measure the changes in the physical
The comparison may be between like volume of production, construction or
categories such as persons, schools, employment. Though price index
hospitals etc. An index number also numbers are more widely used, a
measures changes in the value of the production index is also an important
variables such as prices of specified list indicator of the level of the output in
of commodities, volume of production the economy.

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92 STATISTICS FOR ECONOMICS

3. C ONSTRUCTION OF AN INDEX NUMBER The Aggregative Method

In the following sections, the principles The formula for a simple aggregative
of constructing an index number will price index is
be illustrated through price index Σ P1
P01 = × 100
numbers. Σ P0
Let us look at the following example: Where P1 and P0 indicate the price
Example 1 of the commodity in the current period
and base period respectively. Using the
Calculation of simple aggregative price
data from example 1, the simple
index aggregative price index is
TABLE 7.1 4 +6 +5 +3
P01 = × 100 = 138.5
Commodity Base Current Percentage 2+5+4 +2
period period change
price (Rs) price (Rs)
Here, price is said to have risen by
38.5 per cent.
A 2 4 100
Do you know that such an index is
B 5 6 20
C 4 5 25 of limited use? The reason is that the
D 2 3 50 units of measurement of prices of
various commodities are not the same.
As you observe in this example, the It is unweighted, because the relative
percentage changes are different for importance of the items has not been
every commodity. If the percentage properly reflected. The items are treated
changes were the same for all four as having equal importance or weight.
items, a single measure would have But what happens in reality? In reality
the items purchased differ in order of
been sufficient to describe the change.
importance. Food items occupy a large
However, the percentage changes differ proportion of our expenditure. In that
and reporting the percentage change case an equal rise in the price of an
for every item will be confusing. It item with large weight and that of an
happens when the number of item with low weight will have different
commodities is large, which is common implications for the overall change in
in any real market situation. A price the price index.
index represents these changes by a The formula for a weighted
single numerical measure. aggregative price index is
There are two methods of Σ P1q 0
P01 = × 100
constructing an index number. It can Σ P0 q 0
be computed by the aggregative
An index number becomes a
m e t h o d and by the m e t h o d o f
weighted index when the relative
averaging relatives. importance of items is taken care of.

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INDEX NUMBERS 93

Here weights are quantity weights. To 4 × 10 + 6 × 12 + 5 × 20 + 3 × 15

construct a weighted aggregative index, = × 100
2 × 10 + 5 × 12 + 4 × 20 + 2 × 15
a well-specified basket of commodities
is taken and its worth each year is 257
= × 100 = 135.3
calculated. It thus measures the 190
changing value of a fixed aggregate of This method uses the base period
goods. Since the total value changes quantities as weights. A weighted
with a fixed basket, the change is due aggregative price index using base
to price change. Various methods of period quantities as weights, is also
calculating a weighted aggregative known as Laspeyre’s price index. It
index use different baskets with respect provides an explanation to the question
to time. that if the expenditure on base period
basket of commodities was Rs 100, how
much should be the expenditure in the
current period on the same basket of
commodities? As you can see here, the
value of base period quantities has risen
by 35.3 per cent due to price rise. Using
base period quantities as weights, the
price is said to have risen by 35.3
percent.
Since the current period quantities
differ from the base period quantities,
the index number using current period
weights gives a different value of the
index number.
Example 2 Σ P1q 1
P01 = × 100
Calculation of weighted aggregative Σ P0 q 1
price index 4 × 5 + 6 × 10 + 5 × 15 + 3 × 10
= × 100
TABLE 7.2 2 × 5 + 5 × 10 + 4 × 15 + 2 × 10
Base period Current period 185
Commodity Price Quantity Price Quantity = × 100 = 132.1
140
P0 q0 p1 q1
A 2 10 4 5 It uses the current period quantities
B 5 12 6 10 as weights. A weighted aggregative
C 4 20 5 15 price index using current period
D 2 15 3 10
quantities as weights is known as
Σ P1q 0 Paasche’s price index. It helps in
P01 = × 100 answering the question that, if the
Σ P0 q 0

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94 STATISTICS FOR ECONOMICS

current period basket of commodities The weighted index of price relatives

was consumed in the base period and is the weighted arithmetic mean of price
if we were spending Rs 100 on it, how relatives defined as
much should be the expenditure in
current period on the same basket of  P1i 
∑n
i =1 Wi  × 100
commodities. Paasche’s price index of  P0i 
132.1 is interpreted as a price rise of P 01 =
∑n
i =1 Wi
32.1 per cent. Using current period
weights, the price is said to have risen where W = Weight.
by 32.1 per cent. In a weighted price relative index
weights may be determined by the
Method of Averaging relatives proportion or percentage of
expenditure on them in total
When there is only one commodity, the
expenditure during the base period. It
price index is the ratio of the price of
can also refer to current period
the commodity in the current period to
depending on the formula used. These
that in the base period, usually are, essentially, the value shares of
expressed in percentage terms. The different commodities in the total
method of averaging relatives takes the expenditure. In general the base period
average of these relatives when there weight is preferred to the current period
are many commodities. The price index weight. It is because calculating the
number using price relatives is weight every year is inconvenient. It
defined as also refers to the changing values of
different baskets. They are strictly not
1 p1 comparable. Example 3 shows the type
P01 = Σ × 100
n p0 of information one needs for calculating
weighted price index.
where P1 and Po indicate the price of
the ith commodity in the current period Example 3
and base period respectively. The ratio Calculation of weighted price relatives
(P1/P0) × 100 is also referred to as price index
relative of the commodity. n stands for
the number of commodities. In the TABLE 7.3
current exmple Commodity Weight Base Current Price
in % year price year relative
price (in Rs)
1  4 6 5 3
P01 =  + + +  × 100 = 149 (in Rs.)
4  2 5 4 2
A 40 2 4 200
B 30 5 6 120
Thus, the prices of the commodities C 20 4 5 125
have risen by 49 per cent. D 10 2 3 150

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INDEX NUMBERS 95

The weighted price index is measures the average change in retail

prices. Consider the statement that the
 P1i  CPI for industrial workers (2001=100)
∑ ni =1 Wi  × 100
 P0 i  is 277 in December 2014. What does
P 01 = this statement mean? It means that if
∑ ni =1 Wi
the industrial worker was spending
40 × 200 + 30 × 120 + 20 × 125 + 10 × 150 Rs 100 in 2001 for a typical basket of
=
100 commodities, he needs Rs 277 in
= 156 December 2014 to be able to buy an
The weighted price index is 156. identical basket of commodities. It is
not necessary that he/she buys the
The price index has risen by 56
per cent. The values of the unweighted basket. What is important is whether
he has the capability to buy it.
price index and the weighted price
index differ, as they should. The higher Example 4
rise in the weighted index is due to the
doubling of the most important item A Construction of consumer price index
in Example 3. number.

Activity Σ WR 9786.85
CPI = = = 97.86
• Interchange the current period ΣW 100
values with the base period
values, in the data given in This exercise shows that the cost of
Example 2. Calculate the price living has declined by 2.14 per cent.
index using Laspeyre’s, and What does an index larger than 100
Paasche’s formula. What indicate? It means a higher cost of
difference do you observe from living necessitating an upward
the earlier illustration?
adjustment in wages and salaries. The
rise is equal to the amount, it exceeds
4. SOME IMPORTANT INDEX NUMBERS 100. If the index is 150, 50 per cent
Consumer price index upward adjustment is required. The
Consumer price index (CPI), also salaries of the employees have to be
known as the cost of living index, raised by 50 per cent.
TABLE 7.4
Item Weight in % Base period Current period R=P1/P0 × 100 WR
W price (Rs) price (Rs) (in%)
Food 35 150 145 96.67 3883.45
Fuel 10 25 23 92.00 920.00
Cloth 20 75 65 86.67 1733.40
Rent 15 30 30 100.00 1500.00
Misc. 20 40 45 112.50 2250.00
9786.85

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96 STATISTICS FOR ECONOMICS

Consumer Price Index Number This index is now being prepared

Government agencies in India prepare with base 2012 = 100 and many
improvements have been made in
a large number of consumer price
accordance with international
index numbers. Some of them are as
standards. The basket of items and
follows:
weighing diagrams for the revised series
• Consumer Price Index Numbers for
has been prepared using the Modified
Industrial Workers with base
Mixed Reference Period (MMRP) data
2001=100. Value of Index in May
of the Consumer Expenditure Survey
2017 was 278. (CES), 2011-12 of the 68th Round of
• All-India Consumer Price Index National Sample Survey (NSS). The
Numbers for Agricultural weights are as follows:
Labourers with base 1986-
87=100. Value of Index in May Major Groups Weight
2017 was 872. Food and beverages 45.86
• All-India Consumer Price Index Pan, tobacco and intoxicants 2.38
Numbers for Rural Labourers with Clothing & footwear 6.53
Housing 10.07
base 1986-87=100. Value of Index Fuel & light 6.84
in May 2017 was 878. Misc. group 28.32
• All-India Rural Consumer Index General 100.00
with base 2012 = 100. Value of Source: Economic Survey, 2014-15
Index in May 2017 was 133.3 Government of India.
• All-India Urban Consumer Price
Data are provided on the rate of change
Index with base 2012 = 100. Value
per year of each of the sub-groups and
of Index in May 2017 was 129.3
main groups. So, we can find out from
All-India Combined Consumer
this data which prices are rising most
Price with base 2012 = 100. Value
of all and are, thereby, contributing to
of Index in May 2017 was 131.4 inflation.
In addition, these indices are The Consumer Food Price Index
available at the state level. (CFPI) is the same as the Consumer
The detailed methods used for Price Index for ‘Food and Beverages’
calculating each of these index except that it does not include alcoholic
numbers is different and it is not beverages’ and ‘Prepared meals,
necessary to go into these details. snacks, sweets, etc’.
The Reserve Bank of India is using
the All-India Combined Consumer Wholesale Price Index
Price Index as the main measure of how The Wholesale price index number
consumer prices are changing. indicates the change in the general
Therefore, some details are necessary price level. Unlike the CPI, it does not
about this index number. have any reference consumer category.

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INDEX NUMBERS 97

It does not include items pertaining to ‘Core Inflation’ which make up around
services like barber charges, repairing, 55% of the total weight of the wholesale
etc. price index.
What does the statement “WPI with
2004-05 as base is 253 in October, Index of Industrial production
2014” mean? It means that the general Unlike the Consumer Price Index or the
price level has risen by 153 per cent Wholesale Price Index, this is an index
during this period. which tries to measure quantities. With
effect from April 2017, the base year
The Wholesale Price Index is now
has been fixed at 2011-12 = 100. The
being prepared with base 2011-12 = reason for the fast changes in the base
100. The value of the index for May year is that every year a large number of
2017 was 112.8. This index uses the items either stop being manufactured or
prices that are prevailing at the become inconsequential, while many
wholesale level. Only the prices of goods other new items start getting
manufactured.
are included. The main types of goods
While the price indices were
and their weights are as follows: essentially weighted averages of price
Major Groups Weight
relatives, the index of industrial
production is a weighted arithmetic
Primary Articles 22.62
mean of quantity relatives with weights
Fuel and Power 13.15
Manufactured Products 64.23 being allotted to various items in
All Commodities ‘Headline Inflation’ 100.00 proportion to value added by
‘WPI Food Index’ 24.23 manufacture in the base year by using
Source: Ministry of Statistics and
Laspeyre’s formula:
Programme Implementation, 2016-17
∑n
i =1 q1iWi
Usually the data on Wholesale IIP 01 = × 100
Prices is available quickly. The ‘All ∑n
i =1 Wi
Commodities Inflation Rate’ is often
referred to as ‘Headline Inflation’. Where IIP01 is the index, qi1 is the
Sometimes the focus is on food items quantity relative for year 1 with year 0
which comprise 24.23% of the total as base for good i, Wi is the weight
weight. This Food Index is made up of allotted to the good i. There are n goods
Food Articles from the Primary Articles in the production index.
group and Food Products from the The index of Industrial Production
Manufactured Products group. Other is available at the level of Industrial
economists like to focus on the Sectors and sub-sectors. The main
wholesale prices in manufactured branches are ‘Mining’, ‘Manufacturing’
goods (other than food articles and also and ‘Electricity’. Sometimes the focus
excluding fuel) and for this they study is on what are called “core” industries

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98 STATISTICS FOR ECONOMICS

namely coal, crude oil, natural gas, SENSEX

refinery products, fertilisers, steel,
Sensex is the short form of Bombay
cement and electricity. The Eight Core
Stock Exchange Sensitive Index with
Industries have a combined weight of
1978–79 as base. The value of the
40.27 per cent in the IIP.
sensex is with reference to this period.
TABLE 7.5
Weightage Pattern of IIP
(Industrial Production Sectors)
Sector Weight
Mining 14.4
Manufacturing 77.6
Electricity 8.0
General Index 100.0

Source: Ministry of Statistics and

Programme Implementation, 2016-17

The index of Industrial Production

is also available according to the “use”
of the product, that is, for example, It is the benchmark index for the Indian
“Primary Goods”, “Consumer stock market. It consists of 30 stocks
Durables” and so on. which represent 13 sectors of the
economy and the companies listed are
TABLE 7.6
Weightage Pattern of IIP leaders in their respective industries. If
(Use-based Groups)
Group Weight
Primary 34.1
Capital Goods 8.2
Intermediate Goods 17.2
Infrastructure/Construction Goods 12.3
Consumer Durables 12.8
Consumer Non-durables 15.3
General Index 100.0

Source: Ministry of Statistics and

Programme Implementation, 2016-17

Human Development Index

Another useful index widely used to
know the development of a country is the sensex rises, it indicates that the
Human Development Index (HDI) about market is doing well and investors
which you might have studied in expect better earnings from companies.
Class X. It also indicates a growing confidence of

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INDEX NUMBERS 99

investors in the basic health of the and Paasche’s index is the weights used
economy. in these formulae.
• Besides, there are many sources of
5. ISSUES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN data with different degrees of reliability.
INDEX NUMBER Data of poor reliability will give
You should keep certain important issues misleading results. Hence, due care
in mind, while constructing an index should be taken in the collection of data.
number. If primary data are not being used, then
• You need to be clear about the the most reliable source of secondary
purpose of the index. Calculation of a data should be chosen.
volume index will be inappropriate,
Activity
when one needs a value index.
• Besides this, the items are not equally • Collect data from the local
important for different groups of vegetable market over a week for,
consumers when a consumer price at least 10 items. Try to
construct the daily price index
index is constructed. The rise in petrol
for the week. What problems do
price may not directly impact the living you encounter in applying both
condition of the poor agricultural methods for the construction of
labourers. Thus the items to be included a price index?
in any index have to be selected carefully
to be as representative as possible. Only 6. INDEX NUMBER IN ECONOMICS
then you will get a meaningful picture of
Why do we need to use the index
the change.
numbers? Wholesale price index number
• Every index should have a base year. (WPI), consumer price index number
This base year should be as normal as (CPI) and industrial production index
possible. Years having extreme values (IIP) are widely used in policy making.
should not be selected as base year. The • Consumer index number (CPI) or
period should also not belong to too far cost of living index numbers are helpful
in the past. The comparison between in wage negotiation, formulation of
1993 and 2005 is much more income policy, price policy, rent control,
meaningful than a comparison between taxation and general economic policy
1960 and 2005. Many items in a 1960 formulation.
typical consumption basket have • The wholesale price index (WPI) is
disappeared at present. Therefore, the used to eliminate the effect of changes in
base year for any index number is prices on aggregates, such as national
routinely updated. income, capital formation, etc.
• Another issue is the choice of the • The WPI is widely used to measure
formula, which depends on the nature the rate of inflation. Inflation is a general
of question to be studied. The only and continuing increase in prices. If
difference between the Laspeyre’s index inflation becomes sufficiently large,

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100 STATISTICS FOR ECONOMICS

money may lose its traditional function • Agricultural production index

as a medium of exchange and as a unit provides us a ready reckoner of the
of account. Its primary impact lies in performance of agricultural sector.
lowering the value of money. The weekly • Sensex is a useful guide for
inflation rate is given by investors in the stock market. If the
sensex is rising, investors are optimistic
where Xt and Xt-1 refer of the future performance of the
to the WPI for the tth and (t-1)th weeks. economy. It is an appropriate time for
• CPI are used in calculating the investment.
purchasing power of money and real Where can we get these index
wage: numbers?
(i) Purchasing power of money = 1/
Cost of living index Some of the widely used index
(ii) Real wage = (Money wage/Cost of numbers — WPI, CPI, Index Number of
living index) × 100 Yield of Principal Crops, Index of
If the CPI (1982=100) is 526 in Industrial Production, Index of Foreign
January 2005 the equivalent of a rupee Trade — are available in Economic
in January, 2005 is given by Survey.

100 Activity
Rs = 0.19 . It means that it is • Check from the newspapers and
526
construct a time series of sensex
worth 19 paise in 1982. If the money
with 10 observations. What
wage of the consumer is Rs 10,000, his
happens when the base of the
real wage will be
consumer price index is shifted
100
Rs 10, 000 × = Rs 1, 901 from 1982 to 2000?
526
It means Rs 1,901 in 1982 has 7. CONCLUSION
the same purchasing power as Rs
10,000 in January, 2005. If he/she Estimating index number enables you
was getting Rs 3,000 in 1982, he/she to calculate a single measure of change
of a large number of items. Index
is worse off due to the rise in price. To
numbers can be calculated for price,
maintain the 1982 standard of living
quantity, volume, etc.
the salary should be raised to Rs It is also clear from the formulae that
15,780 which is obtained by the index numbers need to be interpreted
multiplying the base period salary by carefully. The items to be included and
the factor 526/100. the choice of the base period are
• Index of industrial production gives important. Index numbers are extremely
us a quantitative figure about the change important in policy making as is evident
in production in the industrial sector. by their various uses.

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INDEX NUMBERS 101

Recap
• An index number is a statistical device for measuring relative
change in a large number of items.
• There are several formulae for working out an index number and
every formula needs to be interpreted carefully.
• The choice of formula largely depends on the question of interest.
• Widely used index numbers are wholesale price index, consumer
price index, index of industrial production, agricultural production
index and sensex.
• The index numbers are indispensable in economic policy
making.

EXERCISES

1. An index number which accounts for the relative importance of the

items is known as
(i) weighted index
(ii) simple aggregative index
(iii) simple average of relatives
2. In most of the weighted index numbers the weight pertains to
(i) base year
(ii) current year
(iii) both base and current year
3. The impact of change in the price of a commodity with little weight in
the index will be
(i) small
(ii) large
(iii) uncertain
4. A consumer price index measures changes in
(i) retail prices
(ii) wholesale prices
(iii) producers prices
5. The item having the highest weight in consumer price index for
industrial workers is
(i) Food
(ii) Housing
(iii) Clothing

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102 STATISTICS FOR ECONOMICS

6. In general, inflation is calculated by using

(i) wholesale price index
(ii) consumer price index
(iii) producers’ price index
7. Why do we need an index number?
8. What are the desirable properties of the base period?
9. Why is it essential to have different CPI for different categories of
consumers?
10. What does a consumer price index for industrial workers measure?
11. What is the difference between a price index and a quantity index?
12. Is the change in any price reflected in a price index number?
13. Can the CPI for urban non-manual employees represent the changes
in the cost of living of the President of India?
14. The monthly per capita expenditure incurred by workers for an
industrial centre during 1980 and 2005 on the following items are
given below. The weights of these items are 75,10, 5, 6 and 4 respectively.
Prepare a weighted index number for cost of living for 2005 with 1980
as the base.
Items Price in 1980 Price in 2005
Food 100 200
Clothing 20 25
Fuel & lighting 15 20
House rent 30 40
Misc 35 65
15. Read the following table carefully and give your comments.

INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION BASE 1993–94

Industry Weight in % 1996–97 2003–2004
General index 100 130.8 189.0
Mining and quarrying 10.73 118.2 146.9
Manufacturing 79.58 133.6 196.6
Electricity 10.69 122.0 172.6
16. Try to list the important items of consumption in your family.
17. If the salary of a person in the base year is Rs 4,000 per annum and
the current year salary is Rs 6,000, by how much should his salary be
raised to maintain the same standard of living if the CPI is 400?
18. The consumer price index for June, 2005 was 125. The food index was
120 and that of other items 135. What is the percentage of the total
weight given to food?

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INDEX NUMBERS 103

19. An enquiry into the budgets of the middle class families in a certain
city gave the following information;

Expenses on items Food Fuel Clothing Rent Misc.

35% 10% 20% 15% 20%
Price (in Rs) in 2004 1500 250 750 300 400
Price (in Rs) in 1995 1400 200 500 200 250
What is the cost of living index during the year 2004 as compared with
1995?
20. Record the daily expenditure, quantities bought and prices paid per
unit of the daily purchases of your family for two weeks. How has the
price change affected your family?
21. Given the following data-

Year CPI of industrial CPI of agricultural WPI

workers labourers (1993–94=100)
(1982 =100) (1986–87 = 100)
1995–96 313 234 121.6
1996–97 342 256 127.2
1997–98 366 264 132.8
1998–99 414 293 140.7
1999–00 428 306 145.3
2000–01 444 306 155.7
2001–02 463 309 161.3
2002–03 482 319 166.8
2003–04 500 331 175.9

Source: Economic Survey, 2004–2005, Government of India

(i) Comment on the relative values of the index numbers.

(ii) Are they comparable?
22. The monthly expenditure (Rs.) of a family on some important items and
the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates applicable to these items is as
follows:
Item Monthly Expense(Rs) GST Rate %
Cereals 1500 0
Eggs 250 0
Fish, Meat 250 0
Medicines 50 5
Biogas 50 5
Transport 100 5
Butter 50 12
Babool 10 12
Tomato Ketchup 40 12

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104 STATISTICS FOR ECONOMICS

Biscuits 75 18
Cakes, Pastries 25 18
Branded Garments 100 18
Vacuum Cleaner, Car 1000 28

Calculate the average tax rate as far as this family is concerned.

The calculation of the average GST rate makes use of the

formula for weighted average. In this case, the weights are the
shares of expenditure on each category of goods. The total weight
is equal to the total expenditure of the family. And the variables
are the GST rates.
Category Expenditure Weight (w) GST Rate (x) WX
Category 1 2000 0 0
Category 2 200 0.05 10
Category 3 100 0.12 12
Category 4 200 0.18 36
Category 5 1000 0.28 280
3500 338
The mean GST rate as far as this family is concerned is (338)/
(3500) = 0.966 i.e. 9.66%

Activity
• Consult your classteacher to make a list of widely used index
numbers. Get the most recent data indicating the source. Can
you tell what the unit of an index number is?
• Make a table of consumer price index for industrial workers in
the last 10 years and calculate the purchasing power of money.
How is it changing?

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