The Economic Category under the Economic Pillar considers four core indicators and one supporting indicator to calculate the category Index. It primarily looks at increase in tax collection for GST/VAT, Professional Tax and Building Permits, and, unemployment rate and percentage of registered vendors.

A total of 5 parameters have been considered for determining the Economy and Employment Index. These have been explained below. Kindly click each parameter for detailed description and tentative sources of information.

No. Name Unit Benchmark
6.1 Increase in VAT/GST collection   Percentage City with the highest increase in collection (amongst cities in the same city-size classification as given in this document) will be treated as a benchmark
Description:
This is one of the important indicators of economic productivity and competitiveness of a city, along with Indicators 6.2 and 6.3. Increase in collection of Value-added Tax (VAT) or Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a proxy for improvements in trade and services in the city.
Expressed as:
(Total VAT/GST collection during the year – Total VAT/GST collection during preceding year)
X 100 =
Total VAT/GST collection during preceding year
Methodology/ Interpretation and Sources of Data:
  • Data on VAT/GST collection must be collected for 2 consecutive years i.e. year for which indicator is being calculated and the preceding year.
  • Data can be obtained from the Department of Sales Tax, Trade and Taxes Department or similar departme
6.2 Increase in collection of Professional Tax   Percentage City with the highest increase in collection (amongst cities in the same city-size classification as given in this document) will be treated as a benchmark
Description:
This is one of the important indicators of economic productivity and competitiveness of a city, along with Indicators 6.1 and 6.3. Increase in collection of Professional Tax is a proxy for improvements in organized sector employment in the city.
Expressed as:
(Total Professional Tax collection during the year – Total collection during preceding year)
X 100 =
Total Professional Tax collection during preceding year
Methodology/ Interpretation and Sources of Data:
  • Data on Professional tax collection must be collected for 2 consecutive years i.e. year for which indicator is being calculated and the preceding year.
  • Data can be obtained from the Revenue Department of ULBs
6.3 Increase in issuance of Construction Permits   Percentage City with the highest increase in permits (amongst cities in the same city-size classification as given in this document) will be treated as a benchmark
Description:
This is one of the important indicators of economic productivity and competitiveness of a city, along with Indicators 6.1 and 6.2. Increases in issuance of construction permits indicates improvements in the construction/real estate sector in the city.
Expressed as:
(Number of permits issued during the year – Number of permits during preceding year)
X 100 =
Number of construction permits during preceding year
Methodology/ Interpretation and Sources of Data:
  • Data on Construction permits must be collected for 2 consecutive years i.e. year for which indicator is being calculated and the preceding year.
  • Data can be obtained from the Building Permissions Department of the ULB
6.4 Unemployment Rate   Per 1000 persons City with the lowest unemployment rate (amongst cities in the same city-size classification as given in this document) will be treated as a benchmark
Description:
TEmployment generation is one of the key channels through which economic growth translates into prosperity for the population. Unemployment rate of a city denotes the proportion of work force in a city that is not engaged in gainful employment or economic activity, and is given as persons unemployed per 1000 persons in the labour force (employed and unemployed).
Expressed as:
Number of unemployed persons (seeking or available for work)
X 1000 =
Total labour force in the city
Methodology/ Interpretation and Sources of Data:
  • Numerator should include data on number of unemployed persons from the labour force who are seeking or available for work.
  • Labour force estimates will be for persons aged 15 years and above only
  • State level data on labour force and unemployment for urban areas as a whole can be obtained from the Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey conducted by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment. City specific figures can be derived from the State-level data on the basis of share of urban population.
6.5 Percentage of vendors registered and provided formal spaces   Percentage 100%
Description:
The extent to which the city has implemented inclusive strategies for protecting livelihoods of street vendors, by integrating such activities with public places (including streets) in line with the Street Vendors Act of 2014.
Expressed as:
Number of street vendors registered and provided formal spaces
X 100 =
Total number of vendors in the city
Methodology / Interpretation and Sources of Data:
  • Actual provision of spaces must be documented on the records of the ULB and should be corroborated through sample surveys
  • Data on total number of vendors can be obtained from the records of the ULB