Parliament Question: New Consumer Price Index — Base 2024

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.1685 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2026 NEW CONSUMER PRICE INDEX - BASE 2024

1685. SHRI MITESHBHAI RAMESHBHAI PATEL:

SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT:

SHRI RAJPALSINH MAHENDRASINH JADAV:

SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH:

Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION be

pleased to state:

(a) the progress made in respect of transition into the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with the base year 2024=100 along with the number of price collection centres and items included in the revised item basket;

(b) the data regarding the inflation recorded under the new CPI series post its rollout along with a comparison of the corresponding data under the previous series with base year 2012=100; and

(c) the steps taken by the Government to communicate the revised practices and back-series data to other stakeholders including State Governments, financial institutions and bodies utilising CPI-based indexing? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION, MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE [RAO INDERJIT SINGH]

(a) The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2012=100 to 2024=100. The revised series was released on 12th February, 2026. The monthly price collection under the new CPI series has been extended to 1465 rural markets and 1395 urban markets across 434 towns. In addition, 12 online markets have been added across 12 towns, having population of more than 25 lakh each, to capture price variations of items on e- commerce/online platforms. The total number of weighted items in the revised basket at All India level has been increased from 299 to 358, withgoods increasing from 259 to 308 and services from 40 to 50. The item basket and weights of the new series are based on the results of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24.

(b) Under the CPI 2024 series, the inflation data is available from January, 2026 onwards. The inflation data of the CPI 2012 series is available up to December, 2025. A direct comparison of inflation under the new series with that of the previous series is not feasible on account of the changes in the item basket, weights, coverage of markets and methodology between the two series.

The month-wise inflation under the new series since January, 2026, however, is as follows:

Period Inflation (year on year) under CPI 2024 series Month Rural Urban Combined Jan-26 2.73 2.75 2.74 Feb-26 3.37 3.02 3.21 Mar-26 3.63 3.11 3.40 Apr-26 3.74 3.16 3.48 May-26 4.25 3.53 3.93 Jun-26* 4.74 3.92 4.38 * Provisional

(c) To communicate the State Governments, financial institutions, experts, academicians and other users on the changes in the revised series vis-à-vis old series, the Expert Group Report on Comprehensive Updation of Consumer Price Index, containing the details of the revised methodology and practices adopted in the new series, was released on 29th January, 2026, prior to the release of the first index of the new series for better understanding and assimilation of the new CPI series. Thereafter, MoSPI, through press conference, brainstorming sessions, panel discussions, media articles etc. sensitized users on the revised series.

In order to establish the time series and continuity between the CPI (Base:

2012=100) and CPI (Base: 2024=100) series, linking factors and its method of calculation were also released. Further, back series data of the All India General Indices and inflation for the Rural, Urban and Combined sectors for the period from January 2013 to December 2024 is also available at e- Sankhyiki Portal of MoSPI (www.esankhyiki.mospi.gov.in).

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