The stage is being set for revising the consumer price index for urban non-manual employees (CPI-UNME) with National Sample Survey (NSS) going in for the quick Household Consumption Survey 1999, but the revised CPI-UNME will only be ready sometime in late 2000 or 2001.

According to sources in the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), since the resources and time are lacking for having a detailed Family Living Survey, it has been decided to update the index on the basis of Household Consumption Survey which will take one year. The NSS is gearing up to launch the survey from July 1, 1999 and will enadvaour to capture the consumption pattern of representative sections throughout the year.

It has been pointed out that one year period was necessaryto find out the buying habits of families in all the seasons. The present CPI-UNME was based on the Family Living Survey of 1982-83 and has become irrelevant in view of the changing consumption pattern especially in the urban centres. The availability of goods and consumption habits have undergone a sea change during the last decade especially with the onset of economic liberalisation programme in 1991.

The relevance of the revision of the CPI-UNME lies in the fact that it is the only primary indicator of price movement in the urban segment of population in India. The index, among others, is being used by the Central Baord of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in computing cost of inflation index for arriving at the advance tax liability of tax-payers from capital gains.

The CPI-UNME is also used for regulating dearness allowance by various organisations like state governments, public and private sector undertakings, companies and institutes, foreign embassies and banks. Its other important uses include settling ofwages salary disputes, determination of price escalation figures in respect of contracts and also as an input to research work.

The CSO has been compiling the CPI-UNME since 1960. The current series is based is having the base year as 1984-85 which is proposed to be changed to 1998-99. Presently the indices are separately compiled on a monthly basis for 59 urban centres, together with an all India index.

The CSO is planning to significantly expand the number of urban centres for compilation of the new index. The sources said that the number of items of goods and services covered by the index for every centre will go up and their weightage will be changed in accordance with the consumer preference.

In the current series the smallest number of items covered by the index is in case of Imphal, with the number being 146. On the other hand the largest number of items going up to 345 are covered in case of Delhi. Various items, it was pointed out, have been grouped in five main groups which include food,beverages and tobacco, fuel and light, housing, clothing, bedding and footwear and miscellaneous.