BARC releases universe update for 1 lakh+ CS HHs as on 1st March

BARC has released universe update for 1 lakh+ CS HHs as on 1^st March, 2015.
 

Definition of Town/Village for reporting in the BARC India System

All UAs, towns and villages are being reported as per their Census definitions, with two exceptions - Mumbai and Delhi.
In these two cities, mofussil towns that have in reality become an extended part of the respective UAs are added to them. Hence, Mumbai and Delhi are not really UAs, but ‘Market Areas’ considering present-day reality. The reporting units defined for these cities are-

• Delhi – Delhi UA, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon

• Mumbai – Mumbai UA, Vasai-Virar, Panvel

The process applied for such merger of towns to create ‘Market Areas’ is mentioned below.

• Check the availability of the Urban Transport System linking the city to the mofussil town. If the connectivity of the Urban Transport System is high, consider it positively.

o E.g., there is a local train service to Vasai-Virar every 10-15 minutes, but the connectivity to Karjat (which is also a part of Mumbai MMR) is limited, and at certain timings.

• Check which edition of the city’s major newspapers across languages service that town. If the town is serviced by the city / extended edition, consider it positively.

o E.g., Gurgaon is serviced by the main edition of the major newspapers, but Meerut (which is also a part of Delhi NCR) has its own independent edition

• Check for local retail advertising on radio and city editions of newspapers. If the mofussil towns are mentioned in those local ads, this is a clear indication that such towns are considered part of the main city’s ‘Market Areas’, and hence, consider it positively

o E.g., local retail ads in Delhi Times mention the address of the store in Noida along with the ones in the city

If a mofussil town is positive on all three criteria, include it in the ‘Market Area’ of the main city.

If it is positive on the Urban Transport System and Local Retail Advertising criteria, include it in the ‘Market Area’ of the main city.

If it is negative on any one of the above two, but positive on the other two criteria, drop it for the present, but keep a watch on it for changes.

This process has been applied for Mumbai and Delhi at present. Considering the market dynamics, in case other large UAs (5 mn+ cities) need to be redefined any time in future, the same process will be followed.