Economic parameter of modified Kuppuswamy socioeconomic status scale for the year 2023

Abstract

Socioeconomic status SES is one of the most important indicators to consider when assessing a family's health and nutritional status. It is a position that any person can achieve within a hierarchical social framework. Academicians and medical researchers have made several attempts in the past to create a collection of composite indices to assess an individual's or a family's socioeconomic status (SES) whether they reside in a rural or urban location. The Hollingshead, Nakao, and Treas, Blishen, Carroll, and Moore, Tiwari, Kumar, and Agarwal, Jalota, and Kuppuswamy scales are a few of the notable scales. The scales have several factors that account for information about a person or a family. Among all the SES, the most widely used scale in India is ‘The Modified Kuppuswamy SES’. Based on the total score of the Kuppuswamy scale, which ranges from 3-29, families are categorized into five classes, from upper class to lower class. Owing to constraints, the Kuppuswamy SES requires frequent updates for income levels that are dependent on shifting consumer price index (CPI) values, making the scale susceptible to changes over time. This paper aims to update and provide an “Updated Modified Kuppuswamy SES" for the year 2023.