New PPI model finalised, govt working on WPI base revision: DPIIT secretary
on Thursday. He also said the government is working towards changing the base year of the wholesale price index (WPI) from 2011-12 at present.
India is planning to move from the WPI to PPI going ahead in sync with most G20 economies. Consultations with the ministry of statistic and programme implementation (MoSPI) have been done. “It has to go through a process, including National Statistical Commission (NSC) but we are on the job…The model from our side is final and we have shown it to the IMF,” Singh said.While the process of procedural clearances is on, the secretary didn’t give a timeline.
Noting that there was also a request to change the base year of the WPI, he said this is also one of the issues that the government is considering.
In 2021, the DPIIT had issued a draft technical report of a working group, which had suggested revising the base year of WPI and addition of about 480 new items such as medicinal plants, pen drive, lifts, gymnasium equipment and certain motorcycle engines in the new series. 2017-18 was being considered to be the new base year.
“Government, including MoSPI, looks at other statistical indicators, including the CPI and various other indicators. I suspect you can expect some sort of an update of the base year eventually, but whether there will be one particular base year or different…because our studies show that other countries have multiple base years for different types of indices,” Singh said.
Emphasising that the government will take an integrated view on all this but an announcement can come at different times, he said: “Unless we have a decision, I can’t really say”.
Singh said that there will be a transitional phase where both the indices will be there but call on it is yet to be taken.