**Policy Summary: Revision of Consumer Price Index for Agricultural and Rural Labourers (CPI-AL/RL)**
The Ministry of Labour and Employment, through the Labour Bureau, has revised the base year for the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) from 1986-87=100 to 2019=100. This revision aims to enhance the scope, coverage, and robustness of the indices through methodological improvements.
Key changes implemented in the revised CPI-AL/RL series (Base: 2019=100) include:
* **Updated Weighting Diagrams:** Revised expenditure shares based on current consumption patterns.
* **Geometric Mean (GM):** Adoption of GM in place of Arithmetic Mean (AM) to moderate price volatility.
* **COICOP 2018:** Utilization of the latest Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP 2018).
* **PDS Item Pricing:** Calculation of prices for Public Distribution System (PDS) items based on admissibility rather than availability.
* **Expanded Coverage:** Increase in coverage from 20 States/UTs to 34 States/UTs.
* **Increased Sample Size:** Expansion of price collection from 600 to 787 sample villages.
* **More Items Covered:** Increase in the number of items covered from 65-106 to 150-200.
The average annual inflation rates based on the revised CPI-AL/RL (Base: 2019=100) have been moderate compared to the previous series (Base: 1986-87=100).
For June 2025, the CPI-AL and CPI-RL (Base: 2019=100) both stand at 134 points. The year-on-year inflation rates for June 2025, based on the CPI-AL and CPI-RL, are 1.42% and 1.73% respectively.
A detailed note on the base revision exercise is available on the official website of the Labour Bureau: https://www.labourbureau.gov.in. The press release was issued by Manish Gautam/Divyanshu Kumar.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Labour Employment: The Indian government ministry responsible for labor and employment policies.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS: A price index that measures the changes in the price of goods and services consumed by agricultural laborers.
RURAL LABOURERS: A price index that measures the changes in the price of goods and services consumed by rural laborers.
CPI AL RL: Abbreviation for Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers.
Labour Bureau: An attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India.
Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose COICOP2018: The latest classification of individual consumption according to purpose.
34 StatesUTs: The number of States and Union Territories covered in the revised CPI series.
Manish Gautam: Individual associated with the Release ID 2145905
Ministry of Labour & Employment
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR AGRICULTURAL
LABOURERS & RURAL LABOURERS FOR THE
MONTH OF JUNE, 2025 (BASE YEAR: 2019=100)
Posted On: 18 JUL 2025 7:25PM by PIB Delhi
The Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour & Employment has revised the base year of the Consumer Price
Index Numbers for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers (CPI – AL & RL) to 2019=100. The newly
constructed CPI – AL & RL series (Base: 2019=100) replaces the CPI – AL/RL (Base: 1986-87=100) series.
The revised series has significantly enhanced the scope and coverage and incorporated many methodological
changes in order to make the indices more robust. These are: the weighting diagrams (share of expenditure to
total expenditure) have been revised due to changes in consumption patterns; use of the Geometric Mean
(GM) in place of the Arithmetic Mean (AM), as GM moderates the volatility in prices; use of the latest
classification of individual consumption according to purpose, in line with the Classification of Individual
Consumption by Purpose (COICOP)-2018; calculation of prices of PDS items using the admissibility concept
instead of availability as in the old series; the revised series covers 34 States/UTs as against 20 States in the
old series; prices are collected from 787 sample villages as against 600 villages in the old series; and
~150–200 items are covered as against ~65–106 items in the old series.
The average annual inflation rates based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for AL/RL (Base:
2019=100) have been moderate as compared to the old series (Base: 1987=100).
The Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL), with
base year 2019=100, for the month of June 2025 stands at 134 points each. The year-on-year
inflation rates for June 2025 based on the CPI – AL and CPI - RL stand at 1.42% and 1.73%
respectively.
A detailed note on the base revision exercise may be accessed on the official website of the Labour
Bureau: https://www.labourbureau.gov.in/.
*****
Manish Gautam/Divyanshu Kumar
(Release ID: 2145905)