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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

 

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--MoSPI releases expert group report on updation of CPI series 
--MoSPI: New CPI series to have 358 weighted items in basket
--MoSPI: New CPI series to have 12 divisions, 43 groups, 62 classes
--MoSPI:New CPI to give index data from Jan 2025, inflation data for Jan 2026
--MoSPI: Weight of urban sector in new CPI series at 44.6% 
--MoSPI: Weight of rural sector in new CPI series at 55.4% 
--MoSPI: Weight of urban food items in new CPI series at 12.6% 
--MoSPI: Weight of rural food items in new CPI series at 22.1%
--MoSPI: Food & beverages weight in new CPI series at 36.8% vs 45.9?rlier 
--MoSPI: Food weight in new CPI series at 34.8% 
--MoSPI: Beverages weight in new CPI series at 1.8%
--MoSPI: Weight of clothing in new CPI series at 5.5% 
--MoSPI: Weight of housing rental in new CPI series at 10.9% 
--MoSPI: Weight of urban housing rental in new CPI series at 8.4% 
--MoSPI: Weight of rural housing rental in new CPI series at 2.5% 
--MoSPI: Weight of health in new CPI series at 6.1% 
--MoSPI: Weight of personal care items in new CPI series at 3.5% 
--MoSPI: Weight of transport in new CPI series at 8.8%
--MoSPI: To release back series data from Jan 2013 as part of new CPI series 
--MoSPI: To not include free social transfers in new CPI series 
--MoSPI:To add 12 online markets in new CPI series for e-commerce price trend 
--MoSPI: To collect prices from e-commerce platforms on weekly basis 
--MoSPI: To collect prices prices of basic, simple gold, silver jewellery
--MoSPI: To collect prices of basic, simple gold, silver jewellery 
--MoSPI: To not publish core inflation estimates in new CPI series 
--MoSPI: To compile house rent index for rural sector in new CPI series 
--MoSPI: To exclude employer-provided accommodations from new CPI series 
--MoSPI: Weights of missing prices won't be redistributed within other items 
--MoSPI: To impute prices for higher-level indices in case of missing prices
 

 

NEW DELHI – The new CPI series with 2024 as the base year will see a substanstial reduction in the weightage of 'food and beverages' to 36.8% from 45.9% in the old series with 2012 as the base year. In the new CPI series, the item basket will comprise 358 weighted items against 299 items in the previous series. 

 

The new series will have 12 divisions, 43 groups, 62 classes, and 192 sub-classes in accordance with the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose 2018 classification, the ministry said in a release. The ministry released the expert group report on comprehensive updation of CPI. The recommendations have been accepted and incorporated into the new series, a ministry official told Informist. 

 

The old CPI series had six groups--'food and beverages', 'pan, tobacco, and intoxicants', 'clothing and footwear', housing, 'fuel and light', and miscellaneous. Now, there will be 12 divisions--'clothing and footwear'; education services; 'food and beverages'; 'furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance'; health; 'housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels'; 'information and communication'; 'paan, tobacco, and intoxicants'; 'personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services'; 'recreation, sport, and culture'; 'restaurants and accommodation services'; and transport.
 

The first release of the new CPI series, on Feb. 12, will provide indices January 2025 onwards and inflation data for January 2026. The ministry will provide back series data for rural, urban, and combined sectors from January 2013.

 

In the new series, rural 'food and beverages' will have 23.3% weight, much lower than 54.2% in the 2012 series. Urban 'food and beverages' will have 13.5% weight against 36.3?rlier. Food items will have a total weight of 34.8% in the new series and beverages 1.8%. Food items had a 39.1% weight in the 2012 CPI series. 

 

The weight of urban food items in the new CPI series will be 12.6% and rural food items at 22.1%. 

 

Rural sector's share in the overall index has risen in the new CPI series to 55.4% from 53.5% in the old series. Urban sector as a whole will account for 44.6% of the CPI with 2024 base year against 46.5% earlier.

 

The new CPI series will compile house rent index for rural sector for the first time. Actual rental payments made for housing will have a 2.5% weight for rural areas, 8.4% for urban areas and 10.9% on a combined basis. "In view of availability of imputed rent share in rural sector, house rent index will be compiled for rural sector also in CPI 2024 series," the expert group's recommendation report said. 

 

The housing index in the 2024 CPI series also sees the exclusion of employer provided accommodations, a key demand from economists, and will help remove anomalies in the data. 

 

The weight of clothing in the new CPI series will be 5.5% against 5.6?rlier. Health will have a 6.1% weight in the 2024 series against 5.9% previously. The weight of personal care items in new CPI series will be 3.5% and transport's weight will be 8.8%.

 

The new CPI series will collect prices from e-commerce platforms on a weekly basis to capture the latest trends. The ministry will add 12 online markets in new CPI series to collect prices from online and e-commerce platforms.

 

The ministry will collect prices prices of basic and simple gold and silver jewellery such as bangles, necklaces, and rings. The expert group had recommended to adopt the approach of defining standard jewellery items that are likely to be available consistently in the market, rather than attempting to price customised pieces.

 

Free social transfers will not be included in the new CPI series, in line with basic principles of the CPI that it should include only those items for which expenditure is being made by the households. In case of items where prices are missing, the imputation of prices will be done for compilation of higher-level indices. The weights will not be redistributed within the other items of the same section, as done in the CPI 2012 series.

 

On the issue of compilation and dissemination of core inflation by the ministry, the expert group recommended that since there was no uniform definition of core inflation, the ministry should not publish core inflation as it may be interpreted in different ways by different stakeholders.  End

 

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Vandana Hingorani and Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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