(a) whether a new Consumer Price Index (CPI) is being prepared by the Government;
(b) if so, the extent of additional benefits this system is expected to yield;
(c) whether a big gap has been found between Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer
Price Index (CPI) in the country in the recent past;
(d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
(e) the corrective measures taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH)
(a) & (b) Yes Madam. The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation has been bringing out the new Consumer Price Indices (CPI) on base 2010=100 with
effect from January, 2011.
The existing CPI for Industrial Workers, Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers brought
out by the Labour Bureau reflect change in price level of goods and services consumed by
these specific population segments. The new series is broad based and covers the entire rural
and urban population. Therefore, the CPI released by the CSO reflects change in prices more
comprehensively.
(c) & (d) A statement showing the WPI with base 2004-05 and CPI with base 2010 is given in the
Annexure.
Differences between various price indices occur due to the methodology and composition followed
in the computation of the index. The gap between WPI and CPI may also be explained by the fact
that the WPI indicates the price changes of wholesale transactions of a basket of commodities,
whereas the CPI measures the changes in retail prices of goods and services. Additionally, the
difference also lies in the base year adopted, the commodity basket selected, coverage, etc.
(e) The Base year, commodity basket and their weights are revised periodically for these
indices to better reflect the price changes.