Among the three indices prepared by the Labour Bureau, MOLE, the CPI (IW) has lot of significance. It has wider geographical coverage as it covers all states while CPI (AL) and CPI (RL) cover only 20 states. The current series of CPI-IW is with base year 2001 and data from 78 industrially important centers spread across the country are collected. The wide coverage and periodic modification of CPI-IW makes it as a good cost of living index in the organized sector. It is used for calculating dearness allowance of Central Government employees.
