Some Important Index Numbers
1. Consumer price index:
Consumer price index (CPI), also known as the cost of living index, measures the average change in retail prices. The CPI for industrial workers is increasingly considered the appropriate indicator of general inflation, which shows the most accurate impact of price rise on the cost of living of common people.
2. Wholesale price index:
The wholesale price index number indicates the change in the general price level. Unlike the CPI, it does not have any reference consumer category. It does not include items pertaining to services like barber charges, repairing, etc.
3. Industrial production index:
The index number of industrial production measures changes in the level of industrial production comprising many industries. It includes the production of the public and the private sector. It is a weighted average of quantity relatives. In India, it is currently calculated every month with 1993 – 94 as the base.
4. Index number of agricultural production:
The index number of agricultural production is a weighted average of quantity relatives. Its base period is the triennium ending 1981 – 82. In 2003 – 04 the index number of agricultural production was 179. 5. It means that agricultural production has increased by 79.5 percent over the average of the three years 1979 – 80, 1980 – 81 and1981 – 82. Food grains have a weight of 62.92 percent in this index.
5. Producer Price Index:
The producer price index number measures price changes from the producers’ perspective. It uses only basic prices including taxes, trade margins, and transport costs
