The inflation level based on the all India consumer price index for urban non-manual employees (CPI-UNME) was 5.9 per cent in September 2001. The CPI-UNME was 392, one point less than the index for August, 2001. At the major group level, the index for food, beverages and tobacco fell by 1.01 per cent as compared to the level in August 2001, while at the sub-group level, the index for vegetables fell by 6.78 per cent, followed by fruits, whose prices fell by 5.14 per cent.
As compared to this, inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) was only 4.62 per cent (provisional) in September this year. The CPI is a better indicator of the cost of living as it measures the actual cost to consumers.
The average index for the period April 2001 to September 2001 works out to 387, which is 5.4 per cent higher than the average index for the corresponding period last year. Among the four metros, Chennai was by far, the most expensive with an index of 454, followed by Delhi with an index of 401. Mumbai had a CPI-UNME of 394 in September 2001 and Kolkata was the cheapest metro with an index of 355.
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Over the year, however, price levels went up most steeply in Chennai (8.6 per cent), followed by Mumbai (6.2 per cent). The cost of living went up by 4.7 per cent in Delhi and by only 2.6 per cent in Kolkata between Septe-mber 2000 and September 2001.
Among the 59 urban centres for which the data was released, the inflation level was the highest in Agra, where the index went up by 11.5 per cent between September 2000 and September 2001.
Calicut, with a 0.5 per cent inflation, saw the smallest increase in the index over the year. The index went up by less than 4 per cent in nine centres, between 4 and 6 per cent in 17 centres, between 6 and 8 per cent for 24 centres and more than 8 per cent in nine centres.