Consumer price index base to be revised to 2024; producer price index to be expedited

Inflation base changed to 2024

India’s consumer inflation basket will have 2024 as base year, the Economic Survey 2023-24 said on July 22, noting that the government will also work towards expediting the availability of producer price index.

“An extensive exercise for base revision of important economic statistics is being taken up at MoSPI (ministry of statistics and programme implementation). The exercise to change the base year of CPI from 2012 to 2024 has been initiated,” the survey said.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that the government was looking to revise consumer price index base to 2024. The ministry already has initiated market survey to identify shops across markets.

Along with the base year, the commodities used in calculation of the consumer price index are also expected to undergo revision.

The current series considers data from 2011-12, where many commodities like tape recorders, VCRs and cassettes have become obsolete.

“The ongoing efforts to construct the producer price index for goods and services may be expedited to have a greater grasp of episodes of cost-push inflation,” the survey noted.

At present, India has a wholesale price index, which is also over a decade old.

India is also looking to revise GDP, and other series. The government is looking to align all indicators to a single base year.

Moneycontrol had reported that the new GDP series is likely to be made available from early 2026.