- Why in news
- On 29 January 2026, MoSPI released the Expert Group report on comprehensive updation of the CPI. It explains the new CPI 2024 series, which will be released on 12 February 2026.
- What it is
- The Consumer Price Index measures changes in retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by households. MoSPI compiles it, and it is the main measure of retail inflation in India. The base year and item basket are revised periodically so that they match current household spending.
- Publisher
- MoSPI released the report. The Expert Group had academics and senior officers from RBI and the Government of India.
- Classification
- The new series adopts COICOP 2018 up to subclass level to classify items.
- Basket structure
- The basket has 358 weighted items, grouped into 12 Divisions, 43 Groups, 62 Classes and 192 Sub-classes.
- Data source for weights
- Weights come from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24, run by NSO under MoSPI.
Don’t confuse with CPI vs WPI: CPI tracks retail prices paid by households and is compiled by MoSPI. WPI tracks wholesale prices and is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT.
Don’t confuse with CPI-Combined vs CPI-IW: CPI (Rural, Urban, Combined) covers all households and is the RBI's inflation target measure. CPI-IW covers industrial workers and is compiled by the Labour Bureau.
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- A new base and basket capture current spending patterns, so inflation readings become more accurate.
- CPI is the anchor for the RBI's inflation target, so a better CPI improves monetary policy.
Problems
- A lower food weight and new methods can break comparability with older series.
- Collecting reliable rent and online price data at scale is hard.
Way forward
- Publish back series and methodology clearly so users can link the old and new series.
- Revise the base more often, with regular checks on the basket.
Put in your answer
CPI 2024 basket: 358 weighted items under 12 Divisions, 43 Groups, 62 Classes and 192 Sub-classes.
Methodological upgrades: The group recommended using online/e-commerce and administrative data, and a better house rent index.
- 2021Mains GS3 · Q1Difference in GDP computation methodology before and after 2015.
- 2024Mains GS3 · Q2Causes of persistent food inflation and RBI monetary policy effectiveness.
- 2010Prelims Q86WPI frequency and food weight compared with CPI(IW).
- 2015Prelims Q29Which body brings out the CPI for Industrial Workers?
- 2020Prelims Q67CPI versus WPI food weightage, services coverage, RBI measure.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Single answer
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements about the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) 2024 series: 1. The Expert Group report on the base revision was released by the Reserve Bank of India. 2. The item basket and weights are updated using the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24. 3. The item basket has 358 weighted items mapped to 12 Divisions and 43 Groups. 4. The Expert Group recommended leaving out online and e-commerce price data to stay consistent with past series.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
True or false?
1 of 3
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.The Expert Group report on the CPI base revision was released by the Reserve Bank of India.
False. It was released by MoSPI; RBI officers were only members of the Expert Group.
2.The CPI 2024 item basket has 358 weighted items mapped to 12 Divisions.
True. 358 items, 12 Divisions, 43 Groups, 62 Classes, 192 Sub-classes.
3.The Expert Group recommended excluding online and e-commerce price data from the CPI to keep it consistent with past series.
False. It recommended including administrative and online/e-commerce data.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.