19/02/2026, 13:17 Press Release:Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation

FIRST PRESS RELEASE OF CONSUMER

PRICE INDEX ON BASE 2024=100
Posted On: 12 FEB 2026 4:00PM by PIB Delhi

What’s New

Base revised from 2012 to 2024 using Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24

12 Divisions in place of 6 Groups in accordance to Classification of Individual Consumption

According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018

Release of All India and State level Item indices for rural, urban and combined sectors

New Additions: Rural housing, Online media service provider/Streaming services, value
added dairy products, Barley & its product, Pen-drive & External Hard disk, Attendant,
Babysitter and Exercise equipment
Items Removed: VCR/VCD/DVD player and hiring charges, Radio, Tape recorder, Clothing
second-hand, CD/DVD audio/video cassettes and Coir/rope

The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation is releasing the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
with Base 2024=100. The item basket and the corresponding weights are based on Household
Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24. The exercise is being done for enhancing the coverage
and representativeness of the inflation measure. The revision introduces more granular data enabling
policymakers, financial institutions, businesses and citizens with precise data-driven decisions.
I. Key Statistics
II. National Level Indices
a. Year-on-year inflation rate based on All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) with base
year 2024 for the month of January, 2026 over January, 2025 is 2.75%(Provisional).
Corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 2.73% and 2.77%, respectively.

January, 2026 (Provisional) at Base year 2024=100

Rural Urban Combined

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Inflation (%) CPI 2.73 2.77 2.75

(General)

CFPI 1.96 2.44 2.13

Index CPI 104.59 104.30 104.46

(General)

CFPI 103.89 104.31 104.04

b. Food Inflation: - Year-on-year inflation rate based on All India Consumer Food
Price Index (CFPI) for the month of January, 2026 over January, 2025 is 2.13%
(Provisional). Corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 1.96% and
2.44%, respectively.
c. Housing Inflation: - Year-on-year Housing inflation rate for the month of January,
2026 is 2.05% (Provisional)and the corresponding inflation rates for rural and
urban are 2.39% and 1.92%, respectively.
d. At National level, division wise inflation for the month of January, 2026 in the
Combined sectors may be seen from the graph below-

e. All India General CPI and CFPI with base year 2024 for the Combined sectors
from January, 2025 to January, 2026 is given below-

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Month CPI CFPI

Jan-25 101.67 101.87

Feb-25 101.32 100.40

Mar-25 101.39 100.27

Apr-25 101.58 100.18

May-25 101.90 100.54

Jun-25 102.51 101.74

Jul-25 103.35 103.67

Aug-25 103.74 104.49

Sep-25 103.74 104.12

Oct-25 103.74 103.94

Nov-25 104.01 104.45

Dec-25 104.10 104.09

Jan-26 104.46 104.04

f. Top5 items with low inflation at All India combined level in January, 2026 are
given in table below:

[Link]. Item Weight Inflation (%)

1 Garlic 0.3738 -53.05

2 Onion 0.7006 -29.27

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3 Potato 0.7549 -28.98

4 Arhar, Tur 0.5333 -24.90

5 Peas 0.1254 -15.56

g. Top 5 items with high inflation at All India combined level in January, 2026 are
given in table below:

[Link]. Item Weight Inflation (%)

1 Silver Jewellery 0.3127 159.67

2 Tomato 0.4961 64.80

3 Coconut: copra 0.0854 47.18

4 Gold/Diamond/Platinum 0.6230 46.77

Jewellery

5 Coconut oil 0.0579 40.44

h. The month over month (MoM) change in CPI and CFPI from January, 2025 to
December, 2025 in CPI 2024 series is given in the following graph:

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B. State level Indices

Top five States (having more than 50 lakhs population as per Census 2011) with highest inflation in
January, 2026 are given below-

II. December 2025 (Final) figures for CPI base 2012=100

All India CPI, CFPI and corresponding inflation rates for the month of December 2025 (Final) with
base year 2012 are given as follows-

December, 2025 (Final) at Base 2012=100

Rural Urban Combined

Inflation (%) CPI 0.76 2.03 1.33

(General)

CFPI -3.03 -2.09 -2.71

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Index CPI 199.9 195.9 198.0

(General)

CFPI 198.5 205.9 201.1

Response Rate- Real time price data are collected from selected 1407 urban Markets
(including online markets) and 1465 villages covering all States/UTs through personal visits
by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO, MoSPI on a weekly roster. During the
month of January, 2026, prices were collected from 100% rural and urban markets while the
market-wise prices reported therein were 100% for rural markets and 99.98% for urban
markets.

CPI for February 2026 will be released on 12th March, 2026 (Thursday) or the next
working day in case of 12th being a holiday.

Detailed indices including granular level indices (State and Item wise) for the year 2025 and
January 2026 may be downloaded from eSankhyiki portal of MoSPI- [Link]
[Link]/

State-level item indices, available on the portal, should be interpreted cautiously in view of
thin samples of price used for index compilation in some of the cases.
III.

IV. Technical Note on Base Updation Exercise of Consumer Price Index (CPI) (Base 2024=100)

Background and Rationale

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with base year 2024=100 has been introduced to ensure that
the index remains representative of current household consumption patterns, price structures, and the
evolving nature of the Indian economy. The previous CPI series with base 2012=100 served as a
stable and reliable measure for more than a decade; however, during this period, significant structural
changes have occurred in consumption behaviour, income levels, urbanisation, expansion of the
services sector, and digitalisation.

The base updation exercise has been undertaken on the basis of the latest Household Consumption
Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023–24, which provides comprehensive information on household
expenditure patterns across rural and urban areas of the country.

Expert Group and Consultative Process

An Expert Group on Base Revision of CPI was constituted with representation from the Reserve
Bank of India, academia, line Ministries, and statistical experts.

The Expert Group examined methodological, coverage, classification and data-related aspects of CPI
revision. In addition, extensive consultations were undertaken through pre-consultative workshops,
interactions with key stakeholders and public discussion papers. To understand the global best
practices for refining methodology and incorporating alternative data sources, consultations with
International Monetary Fund, World Bank and UNECE’s Group of Experts have also been done.

Reference Period and Base Year Selection

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For any price index to be robust and analytically sound, the price reference period should be as close
as possible to the weight reference period. In CPI 2024, expenditure weights are derived from HCES
2023–24, while base-period prices were collected during January 2024 to December 2024.

Accordingly, 2024 has been selected as the base year, ensuring close alignment between the weight
reference period and the price reference period, thereby improving internal consistency and
representativeness.

Revision of Item Basket and Coverage

At the all-India level, the number of weighted items has increased from 299 to 358 in CPI 2024.
Within this:

Goods items are increased from 259 to 308

Services items are increased from 40 to 50

This expansion strengthens the representation of the services sector, which has assumed greater
importance in household expenditure over time.

Key enhancements:

First-time inclusion of rural house rent for improving coverage of rural housing consumption
Strengthened representation of modern consumption items such as online media services and
fuels (CNG/PNG)
Improved coverage of data available on digital and administrative sources, including telephone
charges, rail fare, air fare, fuel, postal charges and online media and streaming services (OTT
subscriptions).

Adoption of International COICOP - 2018 Framework

The CPI 2024 series adopts the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose
(COICOP) 2018, replacing the earlier structure comprising six broad groups. This is the latest
classification system developed by United Nations Statistics Division. Under the revised framework,
expenditure is classified into 12 divisions at the first level, 43 groups, 92 classes, 162 subclasses
enabling and 358 items at last level of hierarchy which enables:

Classification of items according to its usage

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Ensures global comparability of India’s CPI

Enables more granular dissemination of indices and inflation rates

Revised Weights and Weighing Diagram

The revised weights reflect updated household expenditure patterns as captured in HCES 2023–24.
Share of Food & Beverages is declined in the new series, however, it continues to remain the largest
component of the CPI basket.

A diagrammatic presentation of the revised weighing structure, showing division-wise shares for CPI
2012 (Base 2012=100) and CPI 2024 (Base 2024=100), is provided to illustrate changes in relative
importance across major consumption groups. The revised weighing diagram highlights:

Declining food share in household expenditure

Importance of housing, services, and transport-related items
Better alignment with current consumption behaviour

Month-over-Month change in General CPI during 2025 with 2012 as base year vis-à-vis with
2024 as base year

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Price Collection Methodology and Digitalisation

As part of the base updation exercise, the CPI 2024 series marks the introduction of Computer
Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) for price data collection. Under CAPI, price data are collected
electronically using handheld devices with in-built validation checks, standardized item
specifications, and real-time monitoring capabilities. The transition to CAPI enhances data quality,
timeliness and consistency.

Physical market price collection continues to form the backbone of CPI compilation. However, to
reflect changing purchasing behaviour, the CPI 2024 series supplement traditional collection with
alternative data sources:

E-commerce prices introduced as an additional market in 12 large towns (population exceeding

25 lakhs)
Online sources for select services such as airfares and OTT subscriptions
Administrative data for standardized services such as rail fares, postal charges and fuel prices
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Clear item specifications and defined price collection protocols are followed to ensure comparability
and consistency.

Housing Index Compilation

In the revised CPI series, the Housing index is compiled using a weighted average of three
constituent groups, namely “actual rental payments for housing”, “maintenance, repair and
security of the dwelling”, and “water supply and other miscellaneous services” relating to the
dwelling. Housing inflation is thereafter computed on a year-on-year basis based on the resulting
composite Housing index.

Compilation of combined index

Combined indices at all levels have been calculated by taking the weighted average of rural and
urban indices with corresponding rural and urban weights.

Linking Factor and Back Series

To facilitate continuity and ease of analysis on the basis of time series data, CPI 2024 series is being
released along with following back series data;

Linking factors between CPI 2012 and CPI 2024 series

All India General Indices for Rural, Urban and Combined sectors for the period of January
2013 to December 2024.
Annual Inflation rates based on all India General Indices for Rural, Urban and Combined
sectors for the period of January 2014 to December 2024

Calculation of linking factor: A linking factor is calculated to connect the two series over a
common overlapping period. The overlapping period here is 2025, during which both CPI 2012 and
CPI 2024 indices are available. This overlapping year forms the basis for linking the two series.

Formula for CPI Linking Factor (Annual Overlapping) is as follows:

Let Avg Iynew : denote the annual average (Geometric mean) CPI of the new series for the
overlapping year y;

Avg Iyold : denote the annual average (Geometric mean) CPI of the old series for the same
overlapping year y.

The Linking Factor (LF) is given by:

LF = Avg Iynew / Avg Iyold

The linked CPI for the earlier month t is obtained as:

Itlinked = ItOld × LF (where month t implies earlier period than y)

ItOld is the CPI for month t from the CPI 2012 series and Itlinked is the corresponding CPI for
month t with base 2024. y denotes year 2025.

Following linking factor is used to calculated back series at general level;

S. no. CPI General Linking factor

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1. Rural 0.5222

2. Urban 0.5320

3. Combined 0.5267

The CPI 2024 series is based on the latest Classification of Individual Consumption According to
Purpose (COICOP-2018) framework of UNSD, whereas the CPI 2012 series followed a different
classification system. Due to these differences, the two series can be directly linked only for general
index level.

Conclusion

The CPI 2024 series represent a comprehensive strengthening of India’s inflation measurement
framework. Through updated weights, expanded coverage, improved classification, and incorporation
of modern data sources, the revised CPI provides a more representative, transparent and
methodologically robust measure of retail price change, aligned with international best practices and
current consumption realities.

For more details, Expert Group Report on Comprehensive Updation of Consumer Price Index
may be seen on this link.

V. Annexures

Annexure Title

I All India General (Rural, Urban and Combined) division wise

indices and inflation for January, 2026 (Provisional)

II All India General (Rural, Urban and Combined) group wise

indices and inflation for January, 2026 (Provisional)

III State wise general index and inflation in January, 2026

(Provisional)

IV State level (Rural, Urban and Combined) index from January

2025 to December, 2025(downloadable table)

V Frequently Asked Questions on CPI 2024

Annexure- I

All India General (Rural, Urban and Combined) division wise indices and inflation for
January, 2026 (Provisional)

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Division Division name Index Inflation

code
Rural Urban Comb. Rural Urban Comb.

01 Food and beverages 103.89 104.25 104.03 1.96 2.38 2.11

02 Paan, tobacco and 104.41 104.42 104.42 2.73 3.15 2.86

intoxicants

03 Clothing and footwear 106.61 104.80 105.92 3.40 2.29 2.98

04 Housing, water, electricity, 102.11 101.96 102.02 1.33 1.65 1.53

gas and other fuels

05 Furnishings, household 103.12 102.78 102.97 1.55 1.31 1.45

equipment and routine
household maintenance

06 Health 103.72 104.22 103.91 2.12 2.30 2.19

07 Transport 100.67 100.61 100.64 0.12 0.06 0.09

08 Information and 103.54 102.99 103.30 0.23 0.07 0.16

communication

09 Recreation, sport and culture 103.85 104.22 104.03 2.06 2.58 2.32

10 Education services 104.77 105.71 105.33 3.08 3.53 3.35

11 Restaurants and 104.77 106.56 105.71 1.98 3.66 2.87

accommodation services

13 Personal care, social 123.07 122.05 122.63 19.59 18.28 19.02

protection and miscellaneous
goods and services

All India 104.59 104.30 104.46 2.73 2.77 2.75

Annexure- II

All India General (Rural, Urban and Combined) group wise indices and inflation for January,
2026 (provisional)

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Group Group name Index Inflation

code
Rural Urban Comb. Rural Urban Comb.

01.1 Food 103.89 104.31 104.04 1.96 2.44 2.13

01.2 Beverages 103.65 103.10 103.41 1.71 1.37 1.56

01.3 Services for processing 106.00 106.72 106.21 3.22 3.91 3.42
primary goods for food

02.1 Alcoholic beverages 105.81 105.31 105.65 3.78 3.89 3.82

02.3 Paan and tobacco 103.17 103.49 103.26 1.78 2.38 1.96

03.1 Clothing 107.05 105.40 106.42 3.75 2.82 3.40

03.2 Footwear 103.71 101.06 102.67 1.05 -1.04 0.23

04.1 Actual rental payments made 102.62 102.28 102.36 2.18 1.86 1.93
for housing

04.3 Maintenance, repair and 105.13 104.63 104.95 3.23 3.15 3.20
security of the dwelling

04.4 Water supply and 100.91 102.22 101.82 0.63 1.77 1.42
miscellaneous services relating
to the dwelling

04.5 Electricity, gas and other fuels 101.06 100.10 100.68 0.26 0.49 0.35

05.1 Furniture, furnishings, and 104.58 103.90 104.32 2.28 1.90 2.13
loose carpets

05.2 Household textiles 106.15 103.72 105.24 3.16 1.18 2.41

05.3 Household appliances 101.17 100.18 100.71 0.18 -0.65 -0.21

05.4 Glassware, tableware and 105.74 104.53 105.28 3.19 2.12 2.78
household utensils

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Group Group name Index Inflation

code
Rural Urban Comb. Rural Urban Comb.

05.5 Tools and equipment for house 98.85 99.59 99.10 -1.51 -0.54 -1.19
and garden

05.6 Goods and services for routine 102.68 103.25 102.94 1.46 1.89 1.66
household maintenance

06.1 Medicines and health products 104.40 104.38 104.39 2.52 2.15 2.38

06.2 Outpatient care services 101.96 104.03 102.80 0.89 2.57 1.57

06.3 Inpatient care services 103.95 104.83 104.32 2.76 3.40 3.02

06.4 Other health services 102.23 103.00 102.52 1.16 1.81 1.41

07.1 Purchase of vehicles 97.34 96.65 96.99 -4.32 -4.73 -4.53

07.2 Operation of personal transport 100.03 100.05 100.04 0.11 0.12 0.11
equipment

07.3 Passenger transport services 103.15 103.96 103.50 1.88 2.56 2.17

07.4 Transport services for goods 107.51 107.67 107.61 7.34 7.57 7.48

08.1 Information and 97.72 97.16 97.46 -2.18 -2.46 -2.31

communication equipment

08.3 Information and 105.11 104.71 104.93 0.84 0.79 0.82

communication services

09.1 Recreational durables 97.97 101.25 100.27 -1.15 1.27 0.55

09.2 Other recreational goods 104.71 104.81 104.75 2.63 2.62 2.63

09.3 Garden products and pets 113.77 115.26 114.56 6.62 10.25 8.54

09.4 Recreational services 102.60 101.94 102.20 1.81 1.03 1.34

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Group Group name Index Inflation

code
Rural Urban Comb. Rural Urban Comb.

09.5 Cultural goods 102.09 103.67 102.87 0.68 1.62 1.15

09.6 Cultural services 103.22 104.42 103.96 2.11 2.41 2.29

09.7 Newspapers, books and 102.43 102.54 102.48 1.20 1.49 1.33
stationery

10.1 Early childhood and primary 106.11 105.98 106.03 3.81 3.23 3.45
education

10.2 Secondary education 105.54 106.99 106.47 3.81 4.33 4.14

10.4 Higher education 102.20 105.74 104.49 1.50 4.72 3.59

10.5 Education not defined by level 103.19 103.21 103.20 2.09 2.20 2.14

11.1 Food and beverage serving 104.78 106.56 105.73 1.98 3.66 2.87
services

11.2 Accommodation services 102.07 104.62 103.21 0.87 3.01 1.83

13.1 Personal care 104.61 105.18 104.85 2.91 3.18 3.03

13.2 Other personal effects 172.80 165.27 169.46 62.46 55.17 59.23

13.9 Other services 102.26 101.91 102.12 1.20 1.21 1.20

Annexure-III

State wise general index and inflation in January, 2026 (Provisional)

CPI Inflation
State
Rural Urban Combined Rural Urban Combined

Andaman And Nicobar Islands 108.02 105.70 106.88 5.55 2.94 4.27

Andhra Pradesh 104.10 104.43 104.23 2.58 3.23 2.83

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Arunachal Pradesh 102.66 102.94 102.73 1.32 1.22 1.29

Assam 103.08 102.47 102.95 0.67 1.22 0.78

Bihar 104.37 102.40 104.09 2.69 1.25 2.48

Chandigarh * 103.70 103.70 * 2.33 2.33

Chhattisgarh 103.12 102.46 102.89 2.01 1.01 1.67

Goa 103.44 103.58 103.53 1.56 2.12 1.92

Gujarat 103.02 103.48 103.29 2.01 2.38 2.23

Haryana 104.42 104.37 104.40 2.39 2.72 2.55

Himachal Pradesh 104.73 105.01 104.77 2.86 3.24 2.92

Jammu And Kashmir 104.37 103.79 104.21 1.13 1.87 1.34

Jharkhand 104.45 102.57 103.81 2.42 1.23 2.02

Karnataka 105.32 104.87 105.09 2.97 3.02 2.99

Kerala 106.50 105.02 105.68 4.18 3.26 3.67

Ladakh 105.30 104.51 105.10 1.92 1.29 1.76

Lakshadweep 104.27 105.33 105.04 2.28 3.30 3.02

Madhya Pradesh 104.20 104.09 104.15 2.58 2.94 2.72

Maharashtra 104.57 104.07 104.27 2.84 2.45 2.60

Manipur 101.78 103.38 102.30 -0.43 1.29 0.12

Meghalaya 104.55 103.30 104.23 1.75 1.43 1.66

Mizoram 103.10 102.09 102.52 0.53 0.04 0.25

Nagaland 105.39 103.45 104.65 2.66 1.87 2.36

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NCT of Delhi 101.70 103.04 103.01 1.86 2.15 2.15

Odisha 103.76 103.09 103.58 1.88 1.84 1.87

Puducherry 105.18 105.32 105.28 2.60 3.75 3.39

Punjab 105.07 103.93 104.55 3.04 2.32 2.71

Rajasthan 104.97 104.61 104.84 3.29 2.95 3.17

Sikkim 105.44 105.25 105.38 2.92 3.25 3.04

Tamil Nadu 105.54 105.61 105.58 3.16 3.51 3.36

Telangana 106.91 106.36 106.59 5.19 4.72 4.92

The Dadra And Nagar Haveli 103.15 104.23 103.96 2.00 2.78 2.58
And Daman And Diu

Tripura 102.02 102.04 102.03 1.41 0.89 1.29

Uttar Pradesh 104.66 104.28 104.54 2.64 2.74 2.67

Uttarakhand 105.00 103.60 104.49 2.34 1.81 2.15

West Bengal 104.06 103.94 104.00 2.86 2.70 2.79

*: No rural market in Chandigarh

Annexure- V

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on CPI 2024 Series

1. What is Consumer Price Index?

Ans: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is designed to measure the changes over time in general level
of retail prices of selected goods and services that households purchase for the purpose of
consumption.

2. How inflation is calculated using CPI?

Ans: Inflation is calculated as the year-on-year percentage change in CPI.

Inflation Rate (%) = It-It-12It-12×100 , where It is the CPI for the month ‘t’. It-12 is the CPI for
the t month of the previous year.

3. What is Base Year and why it is important?

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Ans: The Base Year is a chosen year taken as a reference point (index = 100) to compare prices over
time. It is important because it helps measure how much prices have increased or decreased and
keeps inflation figures relevant and easy to understand.

4. What is the Base Year of new CPI series?

Ans: The base year of the new CPI series is 2024=100.

5. What is the base updation exercise?

Ans: The base updation exercise mainly involves revising the CPI item basket and updating item
weights based on the latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES). This base updation
exercise encompasses fresh market survey, base price collection and other methodological
refinements.
6. On which HCES, the new CPI series is updated?

Ans: The latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24 is used for updating
item basket and weights of CPI 2024 series.

7. How many markets & towns are covered in CPI 2024?

Ans: CPI 2024 series covers 1,465 rural markets and 1,395 urban markets across 434 towns. In
addition, 12 online markets are covered across 12 towns having a population of more than 25 lakh.

8. How often is price data collected for CPI?

Ans: Price data are collected monthly from rural and urban markets. Online prices are collected on
weekly basis.

9. What are Index reference period, Weight reference period and Price reference period?

Ans:

Index reference period: It is the period for which index equals 100. For the current CPI, the index
reference period is 2024=100.
Weight reference period: It is the period for on the basis of which weights are calculated. For CPI
2024, Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24 data is used for deriving the weights.

Price reference period: It is the period during which the base prices are collected. The price
reference for the current CPI series is calendar year 2024.

10. What are the major changes in CPI 2024 series?

Ans: Major changes in CPI 2024 includes revising item baskets and weights as per HCES 2023-24,
adoption of COICOP - 2018 Framework, refinement in Index compilation methodology, inclusion of
alternative data sources, use of modern technology and more granular data dissemination.

11. When the Consumer Price Index (Rural, urban and combined) has been started releasing in
India by MoSPI?

Ans: The Consumer Price Index (Rural, urban and combined) has been started releasing by the
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since January 2011 with base year
2010=100.

12. Are weights for CPI 2024 available in public domain?

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Ans: Weights (All India, State, Sector, Division, Group and Item wise) for CPI 2024 series are
available at “www. [Link]” and [Link] in announcement tab.

13. What is the main role of the Expert Group constituted for the Base Revision of CPI
2024?

Ans: The main role of the Expert Group is to provide guidance and recommendations on the CPI
base updation including sample selection and methodology.

14. Have online markets been included in the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: Twelve online markets have been added across 12 towns with a population of more than 25
lakh to capture price variations of items sold on e-commerce and online platforms. In addition,
price collection for airfare, telephone and OTT are also collected through online platforms.

15. How has the number of weighted items changed in the CPI 2024 series compared to CPI
2012?

Ans: At All-India level, the total weighted items have been increased from 299 to 358.
Specifically, goods items have risen from 259 to 308, and services items from 40 to 50.

16. Which organization collects CPI price data for MoSPI?

Ans: Field Operations Division of National Sample Survey (NSS), MoSPI collects monthly price
data for CPI.
17. How are prices collected under the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: In the CPI 2024 series, prices are collected using a tablet-based software application via
Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI), replacing the traditional paper-based method.

18. What is COICOP? Why its adoption is important for CPI 2024?

Ans: The Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) is the

international classification of household expenditure developed by United Nations Statistics Division.
The objective of the COICOP is to provide a framework of homogeneous categories of goods and
services from the point of view of its usage by the households. Its adoption ensures that India’s CPI is
comparable with CPIs worldwide.

19. What is the hierarchical structure of CPI 2024 after adopting COICOP 2018?

Ans: CPI 2024 has 12 Divisions, 43 Groups, 92 Classes, and 162 Sub-classes as per COICOP 2018.

20. Which method is used for elementary index compilation in the CPI 2024 series?
Ans: The Jevons index (Short index formula) is used for compiling elementary indices in the CPI
2024 series.

21. Which method is used for higher level index compilation in the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: The Young/Modified Laspeyres’ index is used for compiling higher level indices in the CPI
2024 series.

22. What is the sample size of dwellings for house rent collection in CPI 2024 series?

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Ans: Total 19039 dwellings, including 15715 in urban and 3324 in rural, are identified for rent
collection in CPI 2024. In view of use of chain-based index, more dwellings, if available, may be
added in future.

23. Is rural housing covered in CPI 2024?

Ans: Yes

24. What is weight of rural housing in CPI 2024?

Ans: The weight of rural housing in CPI 2024 series is 11.764%. This includes Housing, water,
electricity, gas and other fuels. However, House rent share for rural sector is 2.4572.

25. Why free social transfers expenditure is not considered in the CPI?

Ans: By definition, CPI should include only items on which households actually spend money.
IMF’s manual on CPI also suggests that social transfer in kind should not be considered in CPI
compilation. In view of this, free social transfers are excluded from CPI.

26. What alternative data sources are being used in the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: In the CPI 2024 series, alternative data sources such as administrative data and e-
commerce/online price data are used.

27. How the prices for airfares are collected in the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: Airfares are collected through well-known online platforms.

28. How online media and streaming services prices are collected in the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: Prices for services like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Jio Hotstar, SonyLiv, YouTube Premium,
and Zee5 are collected online directly from the service providers’ websites.

29. Will both prepaid and postpaid mobile plans be included in CPI 2024?

Ans: Yes. Two plans for both pre-paid and post-paid are included for compilation of telephone
charges(mobile) index. Administrative data on subscriber shares is taken from the report of TRAI.
30. What is source of data for postal and money order charges in the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: Postage and money order charges are collected from administrative data provided by the
Department of Posts.

31. What is source of data for rail fare in the CPI 2024 series?

Ans: Rail fares are collected using administrative data from the Ministry of Railways.

32. What is source of data for fuel prices (i.e. for Petrol, Diesel, LPG, CNG, PNG) in the CPI2024
series?

Ans: Retail selling prices (RSP) of fuel items are collected from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis
Cell (PPAC), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

33. Will all India item level indices at (Rural/ Urban/Combined) be released?

Ans: All India General, combined, rural, urban wise indices for Divisions, Groups, Classes, Sub-
classes and items will be released every month.

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34. Will state level CPI also be released?

Ans: State level General, combined, rural, urban wise indices for Divisions, Groups, Classes, Sub-
classes and items will be released every month for all States/UTs.

35. From where can CPI 2024 data be accessed?

Ans: CPI 2024 data can be accessed from the e-Sankhyiki portal (MoSPI) at: [Link]
[Link]/macroindicators?product=cpi

36. Will Back Series data will be released?

Ans: The back series will be calculated on the basis of linking factor. Following Back Series for
Base 2024=100 will be published on 12th February, 2026;

All India Indices for Rural, Urban and Combined sectors for the period of January 2013 to
December 2024.
Annual Inflation rates based on all India Indices for Rural, Urban and Combined sectors for the
period of January 2014 to December 2024.
37. How is the linking factor calculated for back series?

Ans: The linking factor is calculated to connect the two series over a common overlapping period.
The overlapping period here is 2025, during which both CPI 2012 and CPI 2024 indices are
available. This overlapping year forms the basis for linking the two series.
Formula for CPI Linking Factor (Annual Overlapping) is as follows:

Let Avg Iynew : denote the annual average (Geometric Mean) CPI of the new series for the
overlapping year y;

Avg Iyold : denote the annual average (Geometric Mean) CPI of the old series for the same
overlapping year y.

The Linking Factor (LF) is given by:

LF = Avg Iynew / Avg Iyold

The linked CPI for the earlier month t is obtained as:

Itlinked = ItOld × LF (where month t implies earlier period than y)

ItOld is the CPI for month t from the CPI 2012 series and Itlinked is the corresponding CPI for
month t with base 2024. “y” denotes year 2025.

38. What is the linking factors at general level for CPI at base 2024=100?
Ans: Following linking factor is used to calculate back series at general level;

S. no. CPI General Level Linking factor

1. Rural 0.5222

2. Urban 0.5320

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3. Combined 0.5267

39. What are group and division wise change in weights in CPI 2012 & CPI 2024?

Ans: Group-wise weights as per CPI 2012 structure are given in table below:

Group Rural Urban Combined

2012 2024 2012 2024 2012 2024

Food and Beverages 54.180 44.801 36.287 34.264 45.863 40.104

Pan, Tobacco 3.263 3.733 1.363 2.065 2.380 2.989

&Intoxicants

Clothing and footwear 7.357 7.123 5.571 5.464 6.527 6.383

Housing NA 5.527 21.664 19.778 10.070 11.881

Fuel and Light 7.940 5.957 5.580 4.907 6.843 5.489

Miscellaneous 27.260 32.858 29.535 33.523 28.317 33.154

Division-wise weights as per new (2024) structure are given in table below:

Divisions Rural Urban Combined

CPI CPI CPI CPI CPI CPI 2024

2012 2024 2012 2024 2012

Food and beverages 50.922 41.983 32.811 30.251 42.617 36.753

Paan, tobacco and 3.263 3.733 1.363 2.065 2.380 2.989

intoxicants

Clothing and footwear 7.357 7.123 5.571 5.464 6.527 6.383

Housing, water, 7.983 11.764 27.294 25.000 16.888 17.665

electricity, gas and
other fuels

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Furnishings, household 3.632 4.609 3.701 4.296 3.656 4.469

equipment and routine
household maintenance

Health 6.839 6.764 4.820 5.275 5.900 6.100

Transport 5.645 8.644 7.129 8.985 6.394 8.796

Information and 2.818 3.647 3.906 3.563 3.323 3.609

communication

Recreation, sport and 1.463 1.359 1.634 1.710 1.547 1.516

culture

Education Services 2.468 2.383 4.720 4.515 3.513 3.333

Restaurants and 3.248 2.841 3.489 3.978 3.246 3.348

accommodation
services

Personal care, social 4.362 5.150 3.566 4.899 4.006 5.038

protection and
miscellaneous goods
and services

40. What is the extent of change in the weight of “Food & Beverages” in CPI 2024 series?

Ans: If the CPI 2012 classification system were followed, the share of Food and Beverages would
have declined from 45.86% to 40.10%. As per the CPI 2024 classification structure, the share of Food
and Beverages, which currently stands at 36.75% for 2024 series, would have been around 42.62%
for the 2012 series. The change in structure between both the series is due to adoption of
Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018 Framework of
United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).

41. What is the actual share of Education in CPI 2024 series?

Ans: The weight of education services in CPI 2024 is 3.3%. Under COICOP 2018, books and
stationery are classified separately from education services. When education services are combined
with books and stationery, the effective “Education” share in CPI 2024 is 4.0%, compared with
4.46% in CPI 2012.

42. How often will base revisions occur in the future?

Ans: The Ministry plans to institutionalize base revisions at regular intervals. As per global practices,
it should be done every three to five years, depending on the availability of Household Consumption
Expenditure Survey (HCES) data.

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For more details, Expert Group Report on Comprehensive Updation of Consumer Price Index
may be seen on this link.

Click here for pdf file.

***

Samrat

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