The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index from 2012=100 to 2024=100, with the revised series released on 12th February 2026. The new series represents a significant expansion in data collection coverage, extending to 1465 rural markets and 1395 urban markets across 434 towns, while also incorporating 12 online markets across 12 towns with populations exceeding 25 lakh each to capture e-commerce price variations.
The item basket has been substantially expanded from 299 to 358 weighted items at the All India level, with goods increasing from 259 to 308 items and services from 40 to 50 items. The revised basket weights are based on the results of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24, reflecting updated consumption patterns.
Inflation data under the new CPI 2024 series is available from January 2026 onward, while the previous series data extends through December 2025. Direct comparison between the two series is not feasible due to changes in item basket, weights, market coverage, and methodology. The monthly inflation rates under the new series show combined inflation starting at 2.74% in January 2026 and gradually increasing to 4.38% by June 2026 (provisional), with rural inflation consistently higher than urban inflation throughout the period.
To facilitate user transition, MoSPI released an Expert Group Report on Comprehensive Updation of Consumer Price Index on 29th January 2026, detailing the revised methodology. The ministry conducted extensive sensitization through press conferences, brainstorming sessions, panel discussions, and media articles. Linking factors and calculation methods were provided to establish continuity between the old and new series, with back series data from January 2013 to December 2024 available on the e-Sankhyiki Portal (www.esankhyiki.mospi.gov.in).