UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 29 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on CPI Industrial Workers
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectIndian Economy
- TopicInflation
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeDirect
Which of the following brings out the 'Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers'?
Show answer
Answer: C. The Labour Bureau
Verdict
The answer is the Labour Bureau. The Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers is compiled and released by the Labour Bureau.
Analysis
The Labour Bureau, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, compiles the CPI for Industrial Workers, for Agricultural Labourers and for Rural Labourers, and the CPI (IW) is the index used to fix dearness allowance and to inform minimum wage revisions. The Reserve Bank uses inflation data but does not compile the index. The Department of Economic Affairs frames macroeconomic policy rather than statistics. The Department of Personnel and Training handles service matters and has no statistical mandate.
Source
Reporting on minimum wage amendments and wage rate policy.
How to crack it
For every price index, hold the compiler and the user separately, since UPSC likes to swap them. The Labour Bureau compiles CPI (IW), the National Statistical Office compiles the combined CPI, and the Office of the Economic Adviser compiles the Wholesale Price Index. Then reason from the constituency: an index built for industrial workers naturally belongs to the labour machinery, which points to the Labour Bureau without any recall at all.