Weights for other categories have notably increased such as transport, information and communication to 12.41% (from 8.59%); housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels to 17.66% (from 16.91%); recreation, sport and culture to 4.86% (from 1.68%); and health to 6.1% (from 5.89%).
The weight of personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services will rise to 5.04% (from 3.89%). Restaurants & accommodation services will carry a weight of 3.35%, reflecting a more service-oriented consumption basket.
The new CPI series, with base year 2024, is scheduled to be released on February 12, replacing the current base year of 2012. The weights are derived from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24.
The Reserve Bank of India bases its inflation target on the CPI, aiming for 4%, plus or minus two percentage points.
The revamped series will include 358 weighted items, covering 308 goods and 50 services, across 1,465 rural markets and 1,395 urban markets, according to the report released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI).Retail inflation climbed to a three-month high of 1.3% in December, from 0.7% in November, as food deflation eased and prices pressures strengthened in miscellaneous items. On average, inflation in 2025 was 2.2%, lowest in 12 years.
SBI Research estimates that the overall CPI would increase marginally by 20-30 basis points, based on the new weights on unchanged index.
“While, in the months when food inflation is higher, the new CPI will be low by 20-30 bps,” it added.
For the first time, the series will also track prices in 12 online markets in towns with population over 25 lakhs, capturing price variations of the items on the e-commerce/online platforms. Additionally, rural house rent will now be included alongside urban, and services such as telecom and OTT subscriptions.
The ministry noted that 2025 will serve as an overlapping year to statistically link historical data from the old series to the new base.