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Wholesale Price Index (WPI) & Consumer Price Index (CPI)

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RBI Grade BNABARD ESISEBI
In one line

India’s retail inflation eased a bit to a four-month low of 5.22% in December from 5.5% in November, with food inflation cooling marginally from 9.04% in November to 8.4% last month, the National Statistics Office.

Inflation

  • Retail inflation, or consumer price inflation (CPI), is a measure of the change in consumer prices over time.
  • Food inflation, a measure of retail inflation, defines changes in prices of foods.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

  • It measures average change in commodity prices in the wholesale market.
  • The three commodity groups are: Primary Products, Fuel and Power, and Manufactured Products.
  • Weights assigned to each commodity are on the basis of production value net of net imports.
  • Compiled and published
    • Compiled and published monthly by the Office of Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • Base year for WPI
    • 2011-12.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

“RBI MPC Unpacked: Key Theory Meets Today’s Macro Trends”Tap to play · from the C4S channel

More on this exam

  • Average change in prices paid by the ultimate consumers for a basket of goods and services over time.
  • The types of CPIs are due to the diversity in the condition of society.
  • Industrial Workers Price Index (CPI-IW)
    • Measures commodity basket of industrial workers
  • Consumer Price Index for Urban Non-Manual Employees (CPI-UNME)
    • It measures the change in commodity baskets consumed by nonmanual employees.
  • CPI for Rural Laborers and Agricultural Laborers (CPI-AL&RL)
    • Measures change in commodity baskets consumed by rural laborers.
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New CPIs

In 9 daysNABARD Grade A 2026: what the 2025 cut-offs changed, and the 90-day planRegister free →
  • Covers all segments of the population of India.
  • Compilated and published by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for All India Level and the State/UT Level.
  • New Indices
    • CPI (Rural), CPI (Urban), and CPI (Combined).
    • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) uses CPI (Combined) as the sole inflation measure for monetary policy.

Comparative Analysis of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI)

  • Same Base Year
    • WPI and CPI are on the same base year, 2011-12, but with different commodity numbers and weights.
  • Inflation
    • Inflation based on WPI is generally low, while inflation based on CPI is generally high.
  • Monetary Policy Decisions
    • WPI is not very suitable for monetary policy decisions, while CPI is very suitable.

Producer Price Index (PPI)

  • PPI measures the average change in selling prices received by domestic producers over time.
  • It measures price changes from the perspective of producers.

Basic Concepts of Inflation

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) & Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

“RBI MPC Unpacked: Key Theory Meets Today’s Macro Trends”Tap to play · from the C4S channel

More on this exam

  • It measures average change in commodity prices in the wholesale market.
  • The three commodity groups are: Primary Products, Fuel and Power, and Manufactured Products.
  • Weights assigned to each commodity are on the basis of production value net of net imports.
  • Compiled and published
    • Compiled and published monthly by the Office of Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • Base year for WPI
    • 2011-12.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

  • Average change in prices paid by the ultimate consumers for a basket of goods and services over time.
  • The types of CPIs are due to the diversity in the condition of society.
  • Industrial Workers Price Index (CPI-IW)
    • Measures commodity basket of industrial workers
  • Consumer Price Index for Urban Non-Manual Employees (CPI-UNME)
    • It measures the change in commodity baskets consumed by nonmanual employees.
  • CPI for Rural Laborers and Agricultural Laborers (CPI-AL&RL)
    • Measures change in commodity baskets consumed by rural laborers.

New CPIs

  • Covers all segments of the population of India.
  • Compilated and published by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for All India Level and the State/UT Level.
  • New Indices
    • CPI (Rural), CPI (Urban), and CPI (Combined).
    • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) uses CPI (Combined) as the sole inflation measure for monetary policy.

Comparative Analysis of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI)

  • Same Base Year
    • WPI and CPI are on the same base year, 2011-12, but with different commodity numbers and weights.
  • Inflation
    • Inflation based on WPI is generally low, while inflation based on CPI is generally high.
  • Monetary Policy Decisions
    • WPI is not very suitable for monetary policy decisions, while CPI is very suitable.

Producer Price Index (PPI)

  • PPI measures the average change in selling prices received by domestic producers over time.
  • It measures price changes from the perspective of producers.
Free · RBI Grade B Want the free material for this exam?

ESI-FM notes, the monthly current affairs PDF and essay topics — all free, on WhatsApp.

or just leave your number
Only study material and course updates. No spam.