A new series of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) will be released Friday in a bid to bring greater accuracy and improved synchronisation among such data sets, in turn leading to better policies.
The new IIP and WPI series will be released by Chief Statistician of India and Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, T.C.A.Anant, and Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ramesh Abhishek, according to an official statement.
The base year for the IIP and the WPI will be 2011-12 and not the current 2004-05. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and gross value addition also have 2011-12 as the base year.
The common base year is expected to reduce discrepancies and making it easier to draw comparisons. The new series of IIP will include technology items such as smart phones, tablets, LED television and tablets.
According to the report of the ‘Working group for development of methodology for compilation of the all India IIP,’ the new item basket for IIP will include “809 products, re-grouped into 521 item groups,” 55 products from the mining sector and treating electricity as a single product.
There is more than one reason for frequent recasting of the base year for IIP in India, the working group said, adding that the reasons include that the classification system for industries and products has undergone a fundamental transformation. The new WPI series will include toys and games as a separate group.
