WPI to PPI: Centre to replace Wholesale Price Inflation with Producer Price Index

New Delhi: The Central government is set to revamp the way wholesale price inflation is measured in the country with the introduction of a new gauge for the factory-gate price movement called Producer Price Index (PPI), which will replace the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in the next five years.

The first PPI based price movement data will be released on June 15 along with the WPI data. Both WPI and PPI data will be released simultaneously for the next five years. Thereafter the WPI will be discontinued. This means after five years PPI will become the key gauge of wholesale price inflation in the country.

“The transition from WPI to PPI is in alignment with the global best practices adopted by advanced economies and the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The upcoming WPI data, to be released on June 15, will be as per the revised 2022-23 base year.

“The revision of the Base Year of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from 2011-12 to 2022-23 and compilation of Producer Price Indices (PPIs) has been approved by the competent authority in its meeting held on May 25, 2026,” the Ministry said.

The Office of Economic Adviser, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which is responsible for the release of the WPI data, will also release the PPI data.

The PPI data will not be released on a consolidated basis but through three indices — Input PPI, Output PPI, and Services PPI. The Services PPI will be released quarterly, while the other two will be published every month.

On June 15, the DPIIT will release WPI and output PPI provisional data for May based on the 2022-23 series. It will also release the back series from April 2023 to April 2026 (37 months).

The monthly Trial Input PPI (only for the manufacturing sector) will be published on an experimental basis from March 2026 onwards, the ministry said.

Service PPI will be released for the Q4 of 2025-26 along with the back series from Q1 of 2023-24 to Q3 of 2025-26.

The new series will have an increased number of items 957 compared to 697 under the 2011-12 series. The new series will include new and renewable energy under the electricity sector, improved methodology for weights derivation and computation, new linking factor and improved method for imputing missing price data.

“Availability of both the Output PPI and Input PPI gives a better understanding of the price movements of output items vis-s-vis inputs items being used in an industry,” the Ministry said.

It also explains how inflation experienced by producers on input items is passed through the output being produced, it added.

The Service PPIs for seven services have been compiled in the first phase based on the availability of data from administrative sources/agencies. More services are planned to be added to the basket of Service PPI in subsequent phases on the basis of availability of data, the official statement noted.