Context: Wholesale Price Index
India’s WPI inflation rose to 8.3% in April 2026 due to rising crude oil, fuel and natural gas prices linked to the West Asia crisis.
Wholesale Price Index
- Measures inflation at the wholesale or producer level.
- Released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Base Year: 2011–12.
- Covers only goods.
Consumer Price Index
- Measures inflation faced by households and consumers.
- Released by NSO under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
- New Base Year: 2024.
- Used by RBI for inflation targeting.
- Covers goods and services.
WPI vs CPI
- WPI tracks wholesale prices; CPI tracks retail prices.
- WPI covers only goods; CPI includes goods and services.
- WPI reflects producer inflation; CPI reflects consumer cost of living.
- CPI has higher food weightage; WPI has higher fuel and manufacturing weightage.
- RBI mainly uses CPI for monetary policy decisions.
