New inflation series reduces base-year bias

MoSPI secretary Garg says methodologies for handling missing prices, house rent and elementary indices have been refined

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THE new series of Consumer Price Index (CPI), used for measuring retail inflation, is going live from February.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) announced the changes to the composition of inflation basket, sharply reducing the weight of food and beverages from 54% to 37% often blamed for volatility in headline inflation. Dipak Mondal spoke to Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, about the upcoming changes to CPI and GDP measurement. Excerpts:

The new base years for inflation and GDP come into force in February. What preparations are underway?

MOSPI is undertaking extensive preparatory work to ensure a smooth rollout of the revised CPI series. The exercise is being guided by an Expert Group examining all methodological and operational aspects. Three discussion papers on the treatment of PDS items and housing index methodology were released for public feedback, and the suggestions received have been incorporated.

Field staff and supervisors have been trained on the revised basket and procedures. Trial runs and consistency checks are underway to ensure data accuracy. The e-Sankhyiki portal is being updated to ensure seamless data release on February 12.

For GDP, an advisory committee with representatives from academia, research institutes, and governments has held around 40 meetings through five subcommittees to finalise methodology and integrate new data sources. Their reports are being prepared. An updated Sources and Methods document will be released in July/August 2026. MoSPI has also conducted pre-release workshops in Mumbai and Delhi, with another scheduled in Chennai, alongside discussion papers to familiarise users with the changes.