Indian Economy
🔒 Log in to trackInflation and price indices
🔒 Log in to trackInflation types
| Type | Cause |
|---|---|
| Demand-pull | Excess demand chasing goods |
| Cost-push | Rising input costs (oil, wages) |
| Stagflation | High inflation + stagnant growth + unemployment |
| Disinflation | Falling rate of inflation (still positive) |
| Deflation | Falling price level |
| Hyperinflation | Triple-digit monthly runaways |
Measurement (post-2026 base revisions)
| Index | Compiler | Base | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI-Combined (headline) | NSO, MoSPI | 2024 (new series from Feb 2026) | Rural + urban; anchors MPC's 4±2% target |
| WPI | Office of Economic Adviser, DPIIT | 2022-23 (from 15 Jun 2026) | Headline basket 957 items; excludes services; being replaced by PPIs over 5 years |
| IIP | NSO | 2022-23 (from 1 Jun 2026) | Monthly industrial output, 28-day lag |
| GDP deflator | NSO | ratio | Nominal/real GDP × 100 |
- Core inflation = headline CPI minus food and fuel.
- Inflation targeting framework: RBI Act amended 2016 (MPC), target 4% CPI ± 2%, failure band defined as three consecutive quarters outside range.
- CPI food measure: CFPI; WPI fuel & power and manufactured products are the volatile groups; RBI uses CPI (not WPI) for policy.
Detailed notes
What inflation is
Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level — the same ₹100 buys less over time. Its two engines: demand-pull (too much money chasing too few goods — often after tax cuts, cheap credit or high government spending) and cost-push (costlier inputs — oil, fertiliser, wages — push prices up even when demand is soft). Related labels: deflation (falling prices), disinflation (inflation falling but still positive), stagflation (high inflation + stagnating growth), headline inflation (all items) vs core inflation (headline minus food and fuel — the 'underlying' trend).
The price indices — who measures what
| Index | Agency | Base year status |
|---|---|---|
| CPI (Combined) — headline, rural, urban | NSO, MoSPI | old base 2012; new series with base 2024 released February 2026 |
| WPI | Office of Economic Adviser, DPIIT (Commerce Ministry) | old base 2011-12; new series 2022-23 launched June 2026 with a wider basket (697 → 957 items) and new Producer Price Indices |
| CPI-IW (industrial workers) | Labour Bureau | used for dearness allowance |
| CPI-AL / CPI-RL (agri/rural labourers) | Labour Bureau | — |
| IIP (industrial output, not prices) | NSO | old base 2011-12; re-based to 2022-23 from June 2026 |
Key contrasts exams test: the WPI covers only goods — no services — and measures prices at the wholesale/producer stage; the CPI measures retail prices paid by consumers and includes services. Since 2016 the RBI's inflation target is framed on CPI, not WPI. The Eight Core Industries index (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery, fertilisers, steel, cement, electricity) is a high-frequency output series feeding the IIP.
Reading the numbers
CPI/WPI changes are reported as year-on-year per cent. Food and beverages carry the largest weight in the CPI basket, which is why a monsoon shock moves headline inflation sharply while core stays steadier — a favourite statement question. The GDP deflator (nominal ÷ real × 100) is the economy-wide price gauge used in national accounts. For fiscal policy, the government watches inflation because it drives dearness allowance, indexation and subsidy bills.
Quick revision
- Demand-pull = excess demand; cost-push = input costs; stagflation = inflation + stagnation; core = headline − food & fuel.
- CPI = retail, includes services, NSO/MoSPI; new base year 2024 (Feb 2026). WPI = wholesale, goods only, DPIIT; new base 2022-23 (Jun 2026) + PPIs.
- CPI-IW/AL/RL = Labour Bureau (DA linkage uses CPI-IW).
- RBI targets CPI (4% ± 2%), never WPI.
- IIP = industrial production (re-based 2022-23); eight core industries feed it.
- Deflation = falling prices; disinflation = slower positive inflation.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Identify the inflation typevery common3 practice Q
A story (oil price shock, monsoon failure, credit boom) is given and the type — demand-pull or cost-push — is asked; sometimes deflation/stagflation options appear.
- Ask: did demand rise (tax cuts, cheap loans, spending) → demand-pull; or did costs rise (crude, wages, inputs) → cost-push.
- Stagflation = inflation plus stagnant growth — cost-push shocks often produce it.
- Deflation = general prices falling; disinflation = inflation slowing but positive.
Example: A sharp rise in imported crude oil prices pushing up general prices is an example of —
Cost-push inflation — the input-cost shock passes into transport, manufacturing and retail prices even without excess demand.
Type 2: Index ↔ agency ↔ coveragevery common3 practice Q
'The WPI is compiled by', 'which index does the RBI target', 'which index covers services', agency and coverage matching.
- Agencies: CPI (Combined) — NSO/MoSPI; WPI — Office of Economic Adviser (DPIIT); CPI-IW/AL/RL — Labour Bureau.
- Coverage: WPI = goods only, wholesale stage, no services; CPI = retail, includes services.
- The RBI's 4 ± 2% target uses CPI, never WPI.
Example: The Wholesale Price Index in India is released by —
The Office of Economic Adviser in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (Commerce & Industry Ministry) — not the NSO.
Type 3: Base years and new seriescommon2 practice Q
'The new CPI series uses which base year', 'the WPI basket was expanded to', 'the IIP base', matching index ↔ base year.
- New anchors: CPI base 2024 (from February 2026); WPI and IIP base 2022-23 (WPI series June 2026, IIP from June 2026); old bases were 2012 (CPI) and 2011-12 (WPI/IIP).
- The 2026 WPI revision enlarged the basket from 697 to 957 items and launched Producer Price Indices alongside.
- A base year's index = 100; a series revision resets weights to a recent consumption/production structure.
Example: The new Consumer Price Index series released in February 2026 has base year —
2024 — replacing the 2012 base; GDP and WPI/IIP use the fiscal-year base 2022-23 instead.
Type 4: Core vs headline and related termscommon2 practice Q
'Core inflation excludes', 'headline inflation means', statement sets pairing food/fuel exclusions with monetary relevance.
- Core = headline − food and fuel — it shows the underlying trend the MPC watches alongside headline CPI.
- Headline = the full published index; food's big CPI weight makes headline jump with supply shocks.
- Terms: disinflation = slower inflation; deflation = negative; reflation = policy-driven recovery of prices.
Example: Core inflation is best described as —
Headline inflation excluding food and fuel — the steadier 'underlying' gauge that central banks read to judge persistent pressure.
Type 5: CPI variants, IIP and core industriesoccasional2 practice Q
'DA is linked to which CPI', 'IIP measures', 'the eight core industries include', matching small facts around price and output indices.
- CPI-IW (industrial workers, Labour Bureau) drives dearness allowance; CPI-AL/RL track farm and rural labourers.
- IIP measures output, not prices — short-term industrial production trends.
- Eight core industries: coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, electricity — they carry a large IIP weight.
Example: The index used for revising dearness allowance of central employees is —
CPI-IW (Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers), compiled by the Labour Bureau.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Index-compiler pairs
CPI-IIP-GDP = MoSPI/NSO; WPI-PPI = DPIIT's Office of Economic Adviser. 'M for MoSPI, W for DPIIT(OEA)'.
Example: Who compiles the WPI?
Office of Economic Adviser, DPIIT (Commerce & Industry Ministry).
⚡ Core = strip the volatile
Core inflation = headline − food − fuel. Stagflation = stagnation + inflation together.
Example: If headline CPI is 6%, food & fuel contribute 2.5%, what is core?
About 3.5%.
Where students lose marks
Using WPI for the inflation target — the MPC targets CPI.
Giving WPI the old 2011-12 base — since 15 June 2026 it is 2022-23 (957 items).
Calling disinflation 'deflation' — disinflation is only a slower rise, deflation is a fall.
Practice sets — 14 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.