MoSPI to revise CPI base period every 3-5 years

THE MINISTRY OF Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) may conduct the revision of the base year for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) series more frequently after the release of the new series in February, MoSPI secretary Saurabh Garg said on Wednesday.

- KULDEEP SINGH

The secretary underlined that the idea is to revise the base year as frequently as possible.

“Three to 5 years would be the range, but the expectation is to do it more frequently,” Garg told FE.

He, however, added that exceptional circumstances like Covid-19 pandemic, could lead to changes in the frequency.

“The broad messaging that we want to give is that we would like to do it as frequently as possible, and perhaps doing it more than once in five years may not be feasible, but if we can, we will try and reduce the frequency,” the secretary said.

The CPI base year revision is currently underway, with the item basket and weights assigned to each in the new series to be based on the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24.

The new CPI series will be released on February 12, 2026 with 2024 as the updated base year. The current CPI series has 2012 as the base year. The government had earlier said that HCES would now be conducted in triennial fashion.