PROVISIONAL WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX, OUTPUT PRODUCER PRICE INDEX, AND TRIAL INPUT PRODUCER PRICE INDEX FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2026, AND FINAL INDEX FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2026

1. At a Glance

• Wholesale Price Index (WPI) tracks prices of goods at the wholesale level. It is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry [2][3].
• WPI inflation for September 2026 was 11.39% (provisional), up from 9.92% in August 2026. Fuel & Power rose fastest, at 25.85% [1].
• The 14 October 2026 release is one of the first monthly releases of the new 2022-23 base series. That series came with two new indices: an Output Producer Price Index (OPPI) and a trial Input PPI (IPPI) [1][2].
• Why it matters for UPSC: price indices, revising base years, the move from WPI towards PPI, deflators for GDP and IIP, and inflation measurement (GS-III).

2. Why in the News

• On 14 October 2026, the OEA released provisional WPI, OPPI and trial IPPI figures for September 2026, along with the final index for July 2026 [1].
• Headline WPI inflation was 11.39%. The index stood at 112.5, up from 110.8 in August [1].
• The final July 2026 index stayed at 110.0, the same as the provisional figure. July inflation was confirmed at 9.78% [1].
• On 15 June 2026, the new WPI series (base 2022-23) replaced the 2011-12 series [2].

3. Background & Evolution

• Earlier base: 2011-12. A Working Group was set up to revise that series and was asked to report to the OEA within 18 months [5].
• 25 May 2026: the base-year revision from 2011-12 to 2022-23 was approved at a meeting [3].
• 15 June 2026: OEA released the new WPI with base year 2022-23. The same release introduced the Output PPI, the trial Input PPI and a Service PPI [2].
• The first provisional OPPI estimate was for May 2026.

• It came with a back series from April 2023 to April 2026 [2].

• Trial IPPI: published experimentally from March 2026 onwards, so the department can check data quality and gather stakeholder feedback [2].

• Effect on IIP: MoSPI switched the deflator for the IIP (base 2022-23) from WPI to Output PPI. The new series replaces the WPI-deflated series released on 1 June 2026 [7].
• Release rhythm: provisional figures come out on the 14th of the following month, or the next working day [1][4].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Compiling body	Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce & Industry), not MoSPI [2][3]
Current base year	2022-23 (replaced 2011-12) [2]
Number of items	957 in the new series, up from 697 [2]
New in the basket	Solar and wind electricity, plus nuclear electricity, in the 'Electricity' group [2]
Major-group weights	Primary Articles 22.75730; Fuel & Power 14.11433; Manufactured Products 63.12837 [1]
Key sub-group weights	Food Articles 15.97835; Mineral Oils 8.19208; Electricity 4.46349; Manufacture of Food Products 9.02016; Basic Metals 8.41133; Chemicals 6.12567; Textiles 4.08993 [1]
WPI Food Index	Weight 24.99% = Food Articles (Primary) + Manufacture of Food Products (Manufactured) [1]
Service PPI coverage	7 services: banking, securities transactions, insurance, pension fund management, railways, passenger air travel, telecom [2]
What a PPI measures	Average price change as goods and services leave the producer. Aligned with the System of National Accounts (SNA) and used as a deflator. WPI does not account for retail margins [6]
Trial IPPI scope	Manufacturing only, experimental [2]
Provisional vs final	Provisional figures come out about 2 weeks after the month ends; the final figure follows 2 months later [1]
Response rates	July 2026 final: 98.97% weighted; September 2026 provisional: 83.4% weighted [1]
Item-level data	Published on eaindustry.nic.in, April 2023 to September 2026 [1]

September 2026 snapshot (provisional) [1]

Group	Index Aug-26	Index Sep-26	YoY Aug-26	YoY Sep-26
All Commodities	110.8	112.5	9.92%	11.39%
Primary Articles	118.1	120.3	7.76%	8.67%
Fuel & Power	108.3	110.5	22.93%	25.85%
Manufactured Products	108.8	110.2	8.37%	9.76%
WPI Food Index	—	—	7.05%	8.66%

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• Drivers named in the release: Mineral Oils, Food Articles, Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas, Coal & Lignite, Basic Metals, Chemicals, Textiles, Rubber & Plastics, and Electrical Equipment [1].
• Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas index jumped from 120.3 to 141.9 in one month, about +18% (derived). Basic Metals went from 100.9 to 106.2 [1].
• Base effect: the Fuel & Power index (110.5) is still below its May 2026 level (113.4), yet YoY inflation is 25.85%. That points to a low base in September 2025 (derived) [1].
• Month-on-month: the headline index rose about 1.5% in one month (110.8 to 112.5) (derived) [1].
• Pass-through risk: Manufactured Products carry 63% of the weight, and their inflation rose from 8.37% to 9.76%. Input-cost pressure is moving into finished goods [1].

Statistical / Methodological

• Moving from a 2011-12 base to 2022-23 updates the weights to reflect today's production structure, including renewable power [2].
• OPPI and IPPI bring India closer to SNA-consistent producer-price measurement and give better deflators for national accounts [6][7].
• A low provisional response rate (83.4%) compared with the final rate (98.97%) means provisional figures can be revised [1].

Social

• Food Index inflation of 8.66% and Food Articles index at 122.2 (up from 119.3) signal upstream pressure on household food costs [1].

Governance / Administrative

• The fixed release calendar (14th of each month; the October 2026 data comes out on 16 November 2026) makes the data predictable and transparent [1].
• The trial IPPI is released openly for stakeholder feedback before it becomes a full index [2].

Federal / Inter-institutional

• OEA (DPIIT) produces WPI and PPI. MoSPI uses Output PPI as the IIP deflator. Both bodies have a stake in these numbers [2][7].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 25 May 2026: WPI base revision to 2022-23 approved [3].
• 1 June 2026: MoSPI released the WPI-deflated IIP (2022-23) series, later replaced by the Output-PPI-deflated version [7].
• 15 June 2026: new WPI (2022-23), OPPI, trial IPPI and Service PPI launched. May 2026 was the first provisional month [2].
• 14 July 2026: June 2026 provisional and April 2026 final estimates released [4].
• 14 October 2026: September 2026 provisional WPI at 11.39%; July 2026 final unchanged at 9.78% [1].
• 16 November 2026 (scheduled): October 2026 WPI, OPPI and trial IPPI [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• WPI is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, not by MoSPI or NSO [2].
• The current WPI base year is 2022-23, replacing 2011-12. The new series was released on 15 June 2026 [2].
• The WPI basket grew from 697 to 957 items [2].
• Solar, wind and nuclear electricity were added to the 'Electricity' group [2].
• Manufactured Products has the largest weight, 63.13%. Primary Articles has 22.76% and Fuel & Power 14.11% [1].
• WPI Food Index weight is 24.99%. It combines Food Articles and Manufacture of Food Products [1].
• Trial Input PPI covers manufacturing only and is experimental, from March 2026 [2].
• Service PPI covers 7 services, including railways, passenger air travel and telecom [2].
• Provisional WPI, OPPI and IPPI come out on the 14th of the following month [1].
• September 2026 WPI inflation was 11.39%. Fuel & Power was highest at 25.85% [1].
• The July 2026 final WPI was 110.0, the same as provisional; inflation was 9.78% [1].
• The July 2026 final index used a 98.97% weighted response rate [1].
• MoSPI now deflates the IIP (2022-23) with Output PPI instead of WPI [7].
• A PPI measures prices as goods leave the producer and is SNA-aligned [6].

8. Why Wholesale Inflation Is Double Retail Inflation

• The two numbers are far apart this month
• WPI inflation for September 2026 is 11.39% [1].
• CPI inflation (the retail price rise that shoppers pay) for the same month is only 5.54% [14].

• A first-year reader may think one of them is wrong. Neither is. They measure different baskets of goods.

• WPI has many traded goods. CPI has more food and services.

• Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said the gap between the two indices comes mainly from this difference in baskets [8].
• An RBI speech on the 2008-09 gap noted that metals are not in the CPI, and that crude oil moves WPI more than CPI [9].

• In September 2026 the big movers were exactly these: crude, mineral oils and basic metals [1]. So WPI jumps and CPI barely moves.

• The government is stopping the fuel shock before it reaches the pump

• The Centre cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre after the West Asia crisis pushed crude prices up [15].
• Retail prices of petrol and diesel were kept unchanged. Oil marketing companies are taking losses (under-recoveries, meaning they sell below cost) on diesel [15].

• So the fuel price rise has not disappeared. It has moved from the shopper to the oil companies and to tax revenue.

• Food is the one place where both indices agree

• WPI Food Index inflation is 8.66% [1]. CFPI (Consumer Food Price Index, the retail food price measure) is 7.74% [14].
• Onion inflation at retail jumped to about 108% in September, from about 49% in August [14].
• Food prices are passing through to households almost fully. Fuel prices are not, because of the excise cut.

9. Fuel Inflation Has Stayed Above 25% for Months

• This is not a one-month spike
• Fuel & Power inflation was 30.33% in May 2026 and 27.41% in June 2026 [4].
• It is still 25.85% in September 2026 [1].

• Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas inflation went from 26.13% in March to 61.51% in May 2026 [4].

• Part of it is the low base. Part of it is not.

• The note already shows the Fuel & Power index is below its May level, so a low September 2025 base explains some of the 25.85% [1].
• But the Crude index still rose about 18% in a single month, from 120.3 to 141.9 [1]. A base effect cannot explain a month-on-month jump.

• So read this as two things together: a real new oil shock in September, sitting on top of a low base.

• Why it matters for later months

• An older RBI statement noted that CPI inflation can follow WPI inflation with a time lag [10].
• The same statement said India's economy is more open now, so world commodity prices hit WPI quickly [10].
• If the government cannot keep holding pump prices, today's WPI fuel number becomes tomorrow's CPI number.

10. Why the World Uses PPI and India Is Only Now Catching Up

• Most countries dropped WPI long ago
• The IMF Producer Price Index Manual (prepared jointly by IMF, ILO, OECD, UNECE and the World Bank) says most countries have replaced WPI with PPI [12].

• The reasons it gives: PPI covers more products and industries, and it follows the System of National Accounts (SNA, the UN framework for measuring GDP). That makes PPI more useful as a deflator (a tool to remove price rise from money values to get real growth) [12].

• India's WPI mixes prices from different stages

• An IMF study on Indian inflation noted that India's WPI picks up prices at different stages of the supply chain [13].
• Crude oil, diesel made from it, and goods made using that diesel can all sit in one basket. So one oil price rise can show up more than once in the headline.

• An Output PPI and an Input PPI keep these stages apart. That is why MoSPI switched the IIP deflator to Output PPI [7].

• The gap was flagged more than 15 years ago

• A 2010 RBI speech pointed out that even a revised WPI would still leave India without a PPI covering primary, intermediate and finished goods [11].

• The IMF study also recommended turning WPI into a PPI and adding services to price indices [13].

• What is still missing in 2026

• The Input PPI covers only manufacturing and is still a trial [2].
• The Service PPI covers only 7 services [2]. Services are a large part of the economy, so most service prices remain unmeasured at the producer stage.
• WPI is still the headline number in the press release. So India now runs two systems at once, and readers must know which one fits which purpose.

11. How Much to Trust the Provisional Number

• The September number is based on fewer reports
• Only 83.4% (by weight) of price returns had come in for September 2026. The final July figure used 98.97% [1].

• About one-sixth of the basket is filled in later. That is why the provisional figure can change.

• Revisions in the new series have so far been small but upward

• April 2026 WPI inflation moved from 8.26% (provisional) to 8.36% (final) [4].
• July 2026 stayed at 9.78% [1].

• So far, revisions have been small. But with an 83.4% response rate, a final September figure slightly higher than 11.39% is possible.

• The comparison year is itself a back-calculated series

• The new 2022-23 series was launched only in June 2026, with a back series from April 2023 [2].
• So the September 2025 figure, which the 11.39% is compared against, was calculated after the fact using new weights. It was not a live figure at that time.
• Year-on-year comparisons across the old 2011-12 series and the new series are not like-for-like. Do not compare this 11.39% with an old-series WPI number from earlier years in an answer.

12. What Each Institution Should Do Next

• RBI's MPC should look through WPI, but watch the lag
• The policy framework now targets CPI, not WPI, as Rajan explained [8]. MPC (Monetary Policy Committee, the body that sets the repo rate) should not raise rates just because WPI is at 11.39%.

• But RBI has itself noted that WPI can feed into CPI later [10]. Input-cost pressure in Manufactured Products (inflation up from 8.37% to 9.76%) is the channel to watch [1].

• Centre: the excise cut is a stop-gap, not a plan

• Holding pump prices through a ₹10 excise cut and oil company losses [15] costs tax revenue and weakens oil company finances.

• If crude stays high, this cost has to land somewhere: on the budget, on the oil companies, or later on consumers.

• OEA (DPIIT): finish the move to PPI

• Take the Input PPI beyond manufacturing and out of the trial stage [2].
• Widen the Service PPI beyond 7 services, as the IMF study recommended adding services [13].
• Follow the IMF PPI Manual's approach of making PPI the main producer price measure [12].

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: WPI inflation 11.39% vs CPI inflation 5.54% in September 2026 — wholesale prices rising about twice as fast as retail [1][14]
• Data: Fuel & Power WPI inflation above 25% from May to September 2026 (30.33% May, 25.85% Sep) [4][1]
• Data: Retail onion inflation about 108% in September 2026; CFPI at 7.74% [14]
• Report/Committee: IMF Producer Price Index Manual (joint IMF–ILO–OECD–UNECE–World Bank) — most countries have replaced WPI with SNA-aligned PPI [12]; Working Group for revision of WPI (2011-12 base) [5]
• Comparison: Most economies moved from WPI to PPI for wider coverage and better GDP deflators. India adopted Output PPI and trial Input PPI only in 2026 [12][2]
• Scheme: ₹10 per litre excise duty cut on petrol and diesel to shield consumers from the West Asia crude spike [15]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Indian Economy, covering mobilisation of resources, growth and development; inflation; and industrial policy.
• GS-III: Government budgeting, specifically measuring real growth (deflators).
• Possible questions: 1. India's introduction of Producer Price Indices alongside a revised WPI marks a shift in price statistics. Examine the rationale and implications for macroeconomic policy. (15 marks) 2. Divergence between wholesale and retail inflation complicates monetary policy. Discuss with reference to recent trends. (10 marks) 3. Periodic revision of base years of economic indicators is essential for credible policymaking. Comment in the context of the 2022-23 base revision of WPI, IIP and GDP. (10 marks)

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Consumer Price Index (new series): retail inflation measure; compare its coverage and compiling body with WPI.
• IIP, base 2022-23: now deflated using Output PPI [7].
• New GDP series, base 2022-23: part of the same statistics overhaul; WPI and PPI feed its deflators.
• GDP deflator vs WPI vs CPI: a classic conceptual comparison.
• Monetary Policy Committee and inflation targeting: retail-wholesale divergence shapes how the MPC reads inflation.
• System of National Accounts (SNA): international framework the PPIs align with [6].
• Base effect and core inflation: needed to read YoY figures correctly [1].
• Crude oil prices and India's import dependence: Mineral Oils and Crude are the main fuel drivers [1].

16. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Wholesale Price Index (Economy): The whole note is about WPI: what it covers, its new 2022-23 series and why it is called wholesale.
• Producer Price Index (Economy): Output and Input PPI are the new indices; they measure producer prices and now deflate IIP.
• Base year revision (Economy): WPI moved from a 2011-12 to a 2022-23 base, changing the basket, weights and comparability.
• Consumer Price Index (Economy): Retail CPI inflation (5.54%) is far below WPI (11.39%); you need the basket differences to explain it.
• Base effect (Economy): Fuel & Power inflation of 25.85% is partly due to a low September 2025 base, not only new price rises.
• GDP deflator (Economy): PPIs are meant to give better deflators for national accounts, so you need to know what a deflator does.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Wrong compiler: WPI and PPI come from OEA, DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce & Industry), not MoSPI. CPI and IIP are MoSPI products [2][7].
• Wrong base year: the WPI base is now 2022-23, not 2011-12 [2].
• Weight confusion: Manufactured Products (about 63%) has the largest weight, not Primary Articles. The Food Index weight (24.99%) is a separate composite and is not the same as the Food Articles weight (15.98%) [1].
• Trial IPPI scope: it covers manufacturing only, not the whole economy. The services index is a separate Service PPI [2].
• Reading YoY as a price level: high YoY inflation can come alongside index levels below earlier months because of base effects (Fuel & Power in September 2026) [1].