WPI Inflation At 9.68%, Govt Launches New Wholesale Price Series With 2022-23 Base Year

New Delhi: Wholesale Inflation At 9.68 percent In May, Government Launches New WPI Series With 2022-23 Base Year And Expanded Basket

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday launched a revised Wholesale Price Index (WPI) series with 2022-23 as the new base year.

The new series replaces the existing 2011-12 base year and marks an important step in modernising how wholesale price movements are measured in India.

The government said the revision is part of a broader effort to improve producer price measurement and bring it closer to global standards.

According to the ministry, India’s wholesale inflation stood at 9.68 percent in May on a year-on-year basis. The WPI for all commodities was recorded at 109.9 during the month.

Among major categories, inflation in primary articles increased to 4.99 percent.

Fuel and power recorded the sharpest rise, with inflation surging to nearly 30 percent. Inflation in manufactured products also remained elevated at 7.48 percent.

The ministry said mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, and basic metals were among the biggest contributors to the increase in wholesale prices.

Meanwhile, the WPI Food Index registered inflation of 4.49 percent in May.

Along with the revised WPI, the government also released new series of Output Producer Price Index (OPPI), Trial Input Producer Price Index (IPPI), and Service Producer Price Indices (PPI) covering seven service sectors.

The ministry said these indices are in line with international best practices and recommendations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

To ensure a smooth transition, the WPI series will continue to be published for the next five years while users gradually shift to the broader Producer Price Index framework.

The revised WPI basket now covers 957 items compared to 697 items earlier.

For the first time, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, along with nuclear electricity, have been included in the index basket.

The government has also reorganised the energy category by shifting crude petroleum and natural gas from primary articles to the fuel and power group.

The new methodology uses Gross Value of Output (GVO) for assigning weights and includes updated techniques for handling price data.

The new Output PPI for all commodities stood at 109.6 in May, while the Trial Input PPI for the manufacturing sector was recorded at 104.9.