New Delhi, February 13 (IANS). India has started a new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series considering 2024 as the base year. Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V. Ananth Nageswaran said that this new series better reflects the spending pattern of the people and this will help in estimating poverty more accurately. He said that the new figures also show that people’s income and working capacity (productivity) have increased.
According to the new series, people are now spending less on food items and more on services like education, health, travel and internet. Nageswaran said that getting the correct data will help the government and the Reserve Bank to take right decisions according to the changing economic situation.
The country’s inflation rate in January was 2.75 percent, which was 2.73 percent in rural areas and 2.77 percent in urban areas. In the old series, food inflation was negative till December 2025, but in the new series it has been recorded at 2.1 percent.
Chief Economic Advisor Nageswaran said that now the government will be able to better understand the demand and supply situation while taking decisions like interest rates. He said that the share of food items has been reduced in the new series, which may reduce the fluctuations in inflation figures.
If inflation fluctuations are less, then Dearness Allowance (DA) and other government expenses, which are linked to CPI, will also be more stable and predictable. This will make it easier for the government to plan its budget.
The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MOSPI) on Thursday released the new CPI series with base year 2024. Earlier it had six groups, which have now been increased to 12 parts so that it can be in accordance with international standards. In this, the expenditure basket of the people has been updated on the basis of ‘HCES 2023-24’ survey.
The number of items in the new series has been increased from 299 to 358, which includes 308 goods and 50 services. This makes it clear that the role of services in people’s expenditure is increasing.
Ministry Secretary Saurabh Garg said that the government is now planning to change the base year of CPI every five years. The next consumer expenditure survey will be conducted in 2027-28.
–IANS
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