Ministry of Commerce & Industry Revises Wholesale Price Index Base Year to 2022–23, Introduces Producer Price Indices

New Delhi, June 2: The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has approved a major overhaul of India’s price measurement framework by revising the base year of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from 2011–12 to 2022–23 and introducing a new set of Producer Price Indices (PPIs). The updated indices will be officially released on June 15, 2026.

The decision, approved by the competent authority and endorsed by the Technical Advisory Committee on Statistics of Price and Cost of Living as well as the National Statistical Commission, aims to provide a more accurate reflection of the current structure of the Indian economy and align the country’s inflation measurement practices with global standards.

According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the revised WPI series will replace the existing 2011–12 base year index. Alongside it, the government will launch new series of Output Producer Price Index (OPPI), Trial Input Producer Price Index (IPPI), and Service Producer Price Index (Service PPI) covering sectors such as banking, insurance, securities transactions, pension fund management, railways, air passenger transport, and telecommunications.

The government said the existing WPI will continue to be published for the next five years alongside the new PPIs to allow businesses and stakeholders sufficient time to transition. After this period, WPI is expected to be phased out in favour of PPIs, which are widely used internationally and recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

One of the major changes in the revised WPI is the expansion of the commodity basket from 697 items to 957 items, significantly broadening coverage across sectors. The updated index also incorporates renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, along with nuclear electricity, under the electricity category.

In another structural change, crude petroleum and natural gas have been shifted from the Primary Articles category to the Fuel and Power group, creating a more coherent framework for tracking energy prices.

The methodology used for calculating weights has also been modernised. The new series uses Gross Value of Output (GVO) to determine weights, replacing the earlier Net Traded Value approach. Officials said this better reflects the economic significance of commodities from a producer’s perspective.

The revised WPI introduces a chain-based short-term calculation method, replacing the older long-term formulation. Additionally, a new “Targeted Mean Imputation” technique will be used for handling missing price data, improving statistical accuracy.

The monthly WPI and Output PPI for May 2026, along with historical data from April 2023 onwards, will be released on June 15. The Trial Input PPI for the manufacturing sector will be published on an experimental basis beginning with March 2026 data, while Service PPIs will be released quarterly.

Officials said the reforms will provide policymakers, businesses, and investors with a more comprehensive understanding of inflation trends, production costs, and price movements across both goods and services sectors, strengthening economic analysis and decision-making in the years ahead.