General Studies GS In the news 4 times

CPI vs WPI

Complementary Inflation Measures

India tracks inflation through two main indices: CPI (retail-level) and WPI (wholesale-level). They serve different purposes and are compiled by different agencies.

Key details

CPI: Compiled by MoSPI/NSO; measures retail prices paid by final consumers; used as the RBI's inflation anchor for monetary policy under the FIT framework.
WPI (Wholesale Price Index): Compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry; measures prices at the factory/wholesale level; base year 2011-12=100; 697 commodities.
CPI typically leads WPI in transmitting demand-side pressures; WPI leads CPI for cost-push (input price) shocks.
India abolished the GDP deflator-based inflation targeting and moved to CPI-based targeting via the RBI Amendment Act, 2016.

In the news

● Tracked since March 12, 2026 · last seen May 18, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

18 May '26

WPI inflation crossing 10% mark not a tail risk but a near-term base case: Report

Economics

25 Mar '26

India retains headline inflation target at 4% following review

Economics

17 Mar '26

India’s wholesale inflation rises to 11-month high of 2.13% in February

Economics

12 Mar '26