Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices in India (Base: 1993-94=100)

Review for the week ended 17th October 2009 (25 Asvina, 1931 Saka)

The official Wholesale Price Index for 'All Commodities' (Base: 1993-94 = 100) for the week ended 17th October, 2009 remained unchanged at its previous week’s level of 242.2 (Provisional).

The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis, stood at 1.51 percent (Provisional) for the week ended 17/10/2009 (over 18/10/2008) as compared to 1.21 percent (Provisional) for the previous week (ended 10/10/2009) and 10.82 percent during the corresponding week (ended18/10/2008) of the previous year.

Monthly release of Wholesale Price Index data

The government is likely to clear tomorrow a proposal for release of data on monthly basis instead of weekly basis for bulk of the items tracked by the Wholesale Price Index, WPI.

Sources in the Commerce and Industry Ministry said, if the proposal is approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs ,CCEA, the shift in data release would take place from December. In the first phase, data in respect of only manufactured items, which have a weightage of 63.75 per cent on the WPI, would be released on the monthly basis. On a parallel track, weekly figures for the food articles and fuels would continue to be released.

Our correspondent reports that Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had also pressed for monthly release of data following the international practices on data release.