Modified B. G. Prasad socioeconomic scale: 2022 update of India

INTRODUCTION

Socioeconomic status (SES) is defined as composite measure that typically incorporates economic, social, and work status. It is understood to mean composite indicator that takes into account a person's financial, social, and occupational standing in addition to their health.¹ Acceptance, availability, affordability, and utilization of the many available health services are all impacted by a person's SES, which in turn affects the social security system. As a result, there is a need for the creation of a standardized approach to the scientific categorization of individuals SES based on their income, which can be readily applied across all strata of society.² Various scales are used to determine the SES like B. G. Prasad classification 1961, Uday Pareekh scale 1964, Kulshrestha scale 1972, Kuppuswamy scale 1976, Shrivastava scale 1978, Bharadwaj scale in 2001, Tiwari et al in 2005, Aggarwal et al in 2005, Gaur scale 2013, and Priya et al 2015 etc.³

Some of these scales are more common in urban settings, while others are used primarily in rural areas. The Kuppuswamy socioeconomic status scale and the modified B. G. Prasad are by far the most common methods of assessment. Kuppuswamy SES is a dynamic scale based on the CPI that has been used to measure the socioeconomic status of urban families, while B. G. Prasad socioeconomic status, a scale based on per capita monthly income (updated in 1968 and 1970), has been used extensively for both rural and urban populations in India (CPI). ⁴ Given that both of these indices depend on income levels, they can typically only be used for the period being considered for revision of the CPI. Therefore, these scales require regular updates to ensure their continued reliability and validity. This article presents the update of B. G. Prasad scale of the year 2022.

B. G. PRASAD SCALE 1961

The B. G. Prasad scale was introduced in 1961 and was first implemented in 1961 with the 1960 CPI serving as its baseline. In 1982 and 2001, a linking factor was added to the scale in order to permit a transition from the new base of 100 to the previous base CPI (1960). In 1982, it was 4.98, and in 2001, it was 4.68.⁵

Method

In this analysis, we use the most recent CPI figure from the labour bureau, government of India, to revise the value of income ranges for BG Prasad scales. Based on May 2022 CPI (IW) data, we can determine that the value of CPI is 129. Table 1 displays the calculation of the CPI and linking factors from 2001 to 2016 while Table 2 displays the new income value for the revised BG Prasad socioeconomic classification 2022.

The formula for calculating new income value for May 2022

New income value=Multiplying factor (1.29)×[Old value×linking factor between 1960 and 1982 series (4.93)×linking factor between 1982 and 2001 series (4.63)×linking factor between 2001 and 2016 series (2.88)].

New income value =1.196×15×4.93×4.63×2.88=1272.04176/1272

RESULTS

As shown in Table 2, the new income value was calculated to be 1271.0418 after an update was performed using the revised CPI (IW). As a result, the modified B. G. Prasad socioeconomic classification scale was updated to reflect the new income value in Table 3.

DISCUSSION

The simplicity of the B. G. Prasad SES is its primary advantage. Because only the income per person is considered, in contrast to other SES, there aren't a lot of variables or figures that need to be learned in order to use it effectively. Once we have the most recent relevant CPI statistic from the Labour Bureau website, it is very simple for us to create the table that categories people's incomes into the appropriate groups. Because there are numerous CPIs for various workforce groups, including agricultural labourers, industrial workers, and others, the scale can be modified to fit the target demographic. This is possible because there are numerous CPIs.

CONCLUSION

The individual's SES is a significant factor in determining the individual's overall health. Because of inflation, prices of goods and services across the country are always shifting, which means that the socioeconomic scales that are derived from income levels need to be revised on a regular basis. The B. G. Prasad scale, which is frequently utilized in the assessment of socioeconomic class in health studies, has been revised as a result of the current research that has been conducted.

Funding: No funding sources

Conflict of interest: None declared

Ethical approval: Not required

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