FIRST PRESS RELEASE OF CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ON BASE 2024=100

1. At a Glance

Consumer Price Index (CPI) base year revised from 2012 to 2024 by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) [S1].
First release issued on 12 February 2026; aligns India's CPI with the latest household consumption pattern and international COICOP 2018 classification [S1][S2].
Critical for UPSC: CPI is the headline inflation measure used by RBI for flexible inflation targeting (4±2%); any base-year revision changes weights, sample basket, and the inflation print itself.

MoSPI on 12 Feb 2026 released the first CPI series with Base 2024=100, replacing the 2012=100 series that had been in use since 2015 [S1].
New series incorporates HCES 2023-24 consumption weights and switches from 6 Groups to 12 Divisions per COICOP 2018 [S1][S2].

CPI-Combined (CPI-C) introduced by CSO/MoSPI in Feb 2011 with Base 2010=100, later revised to Base 2012=100 in 2015 [S1].
Earlier inflation gauges: CPI-IW (Labour Bureau, Industrial Workers), CPI-AL/RL (Agricultural/Rural Labourers), WPI (DPIIT).
Urjit Patel Committee (2014) recommended CPI-C as nominal anchor for monetary policy; adopted under Monetary Policy Framework Agreement, 2015 and RBI Act amendment, 2016 (flexible inflation targeting).
Expert Group on Comprehensive Updation of CPI (report released by MoSPI) recommended the 2024 base-year overhaul [S2].

Implementing body: National Statistical Office (NSO), MoSPI [S1].
Base year: 2024=100 (revised from 2012=100) [S1].
Weight source: Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24 [S1].
Classification: COICOP 2018 of the UN Statistics Division [S2].
Structure: 12 Divisions, 43 Groups, 92 Classes, 162 Sub-classes, with 358 weighted items [S2].
Coverage: All-India and State-level item indices for Rural, Urban and Combined sectors [S1].
Items newly added: Rural housing; Online media service provider/Streaming services; Value-added dairy products; Barley & its product; Pen-drive & External Hard disk; Attendant; Babysitter; Exercise equipment [S1].
Items removed: VCR/VCD/DVD player & hiring charges; Radio; Tape recorder; Clothing second-hand; CD/DVD audio/video cassettes; Coir/rope [S1].
First-time inclusion: Rural housing brought under CPI ambit [S1].

Economic — Revised weights more accurately reflect post-pandemic consumption (lower food share, higher services/digital). Directly affects RBI's MPC decisions under the 4% ±2% inflation target regime.
Statistical / Methodological — Switch from 6 Groups to 12 Divisions improves international comparability with OECD/IMF CPIs that already follow COICOP 2018 [S2]. Larger item basket (358) increases granularity.
Social — Inclusion of Attendant, Babysitter, streaming services, exercise equipment captures rising urban services consumption and care economy; Rural housing captures hitherto un-measured shelter inflation in villages [S1].
Administrative / Federal — State-level rural-urban-combined indices enable State Finance Commissions and DA/DR calculations to use disaggregated data [S1].
Technological — Removal of obsolete electronics (VCR, DVD, tape recorder) and addition of pen-drives, external HDDs, OTT services mirrors digital-economy shift [S1].

HCES 2023-24 results released by MoSPI in 2024-25 — basis for new weights [S1].
Expert Group Report on Comprehensive Updation of CPI released by MoSPI prior to the new series [S2].
12 Feb 2026: First CPI release on Base 2024=100 [S1].

New CPI base year: 2024=100, replacing 2012=100 [S1].
Released by MoSPI/NSO, NOT RBI or Labour Bureau [S1].
First press release date: 12 February 2026 [S1].
Weights derived from HCES 2023-24 [S1].
Classification framework: COICOP 2018 of UN Statistics Division [S2].
New structure: 12 Divisions (earlier 6 Groups), 43 Groups, 92 Classes, 162 Sub-classes [S2].
Item basket size: 358 weighted items [S2].
Rural housing included for the first time in CPI [S1].
Newly added items include Online streaming services, Barley, Pen-drive, Attendant, Babysitter, Exercise equipment [S1].
Items dropped: VCR/VCD/DVD player, Radio, Tape recorder, Coir/rope, Second-hand clothing, CD/DVD cassettes [S1].
CPI-C is the nominal anchor for RBI's flexible inflation targeting (Section 45ZA, RBI Act, 1934).
Sectoral coverage: Rural, Urban, Combined, both All-India and State-level [S1].

GS-III — Indian Economy: "Issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development… Inclusive growth and issues arising from it."
Plausible question stems:
"Discuss the significance of revising the CPI base year to 2024 in the context of India's monetary policy and inclusive measurement of household welfare." (GS-III, 15 marks)
"How does alignment of India's CPI with COICOP 2018 enhance the credibility of national statistics?" (GS-III, 10 marks)
"Examine why a periodic revision of statistical base years is critical for evidence-based policymaking in India." (GS-II/III)

HCES 2023-24 — source of new weights; itself a major data release.
WPI base-year revision (proposed 2022-23) — DPIIT parallel exercise.
RBI Monetary Policy Framework (2016) & flexible inflation targeting.
CPI-IW (Labour Bureau) — separate index for DA of central govt employees; base 2016=100.
GDP base-year revision (upcoming 2022-23 series by NSO) — same statistical reform agenda.
National Statistical Commission (NSC) — Rangarajan Commission, 2001 origin.
PLFS & ASUSE — other MoSPI flagship surveys.
Core inflation vs Headline inflation — analytical concept built atop CPI.

CPI is released by MoSPI, not RBI. RBI only uses it for targeting.
CPI-C ≠ CPI-IW. Base years and compilers differ (NSO vs Labour Bureau).
New CPI has 12 Divisions, not 12 Groups — terminology changed under COICOP [S2].
Base year is 2024, not 2023-24 (HCES is 2023-24; base year is a calendar year) [S1].
WPI continues at base 2011-12 under DPIIT — do not conflate with CPI base revision.
Rural housing is newly added in CPI 2024 series; earlier the Housing sub-group covered only urban [S1].

[S1] FIRST PRESS RELEASE OF CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ON BASE 2024=100 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2227012 — (tier: 1)
[S2] FAQs on CPI 2024 Series & DataViz CPI Weights, MoSPI — https://www.mospi.gov.in/uploads/documents/documents/1770891066052-Annexure_V.pdf ; https://mospi.gov.in/percentage-share — (tier: 1)