Future inflation revisions won’t take more than five years: MoSPI secretary Saurabh Garg

Future inflation revisions will take less time

India’s inflation data will be revised more frequently going forward, with changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) expected within five years, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) secretary Saurabh Garg said at an event organised by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress on August 27.

“The next revisions won’t take more than five years,” Garg noted, adding that household consumption expenditure surveys—the basis for CPI revisions—will be carried out every three years.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that the ministry was considering a four-year revision cycle.

New CPI and GDP Series

The ministry is preparing to roll out a new CPI series from the first quarter of 2026, with 2023–24 as the base year. The current series is still tied to 2011–12, making it 13 years old. The new series will expand coverage, incorporate new consumption items, and, for the first time, include online prices tracked from 12 markets.

MoSPI had also conducted back-to-back consumption surveys in 2022–23 and 2023–24 to strengthen data quality, after scrapping the 2017–18 survey.

The secretary also underscored parallel efforts to update GDP calculations, tapping into new datasets such as those from GSTN and NPCI.

Strengthening Data Delivery

Garg highlighted MoSPI’s work on improving timeliness and granularity of data releases. The ministry is supporting states in compiling state- and district-level estimates, part of a broader push to democratise access to statistics.

In December 2024, Garg had announced plans to publish district-level data alongside state-level figures from MoSPI surveys—a move aimed at deepening India’s statistical base and improving policy targeting.