New inflation basket to have 676 items; likely from June

LCDs on display at a showroom. File photo

The new wholesale price-based inflation basket will have as many as 676 products, including LCD TVs, mobile phones, and packaged drinking water among others, and is likely to be rolled out in June or July.

In the new series there will be no obsolete items like typewriters and VCRs.

The new index, with 2004-05 as the base year, will have 241 new items and is expected to provide a more realistic picture of price rise and its impact on the common man.

Currently there are 435 items in the WPI basket.

“We are making efforts to release the data according to the new basket and base year next month or in July,” a senior official told PTI.

“The existing series has some obsolete items. They will not figure in the new series,” the official added.

With the addition of new items, data reporting would be more representative and give a better picture of the price situation, the official informed.

“While the existing system of inflation is accurate, the new series with bigger basket will be more credible as all major products have been included,” he said.

The Reserve Bank is the major consumer of the inflation data as it helps them in formulating and monitoring policies.

The wholesale price inflation is at present calculated with 1993-94 as the base year. The government had earlier revised the base year for WPI in 1952-53, 1961-62, 1970-71, 1981-82 and 1993-94.