PIB TrackerWPI at 9.92% is more than double CPI at 4.82%, on two different base years
Wholesale and retail inflation for August 2026 were published hours apart by two ministries, on two newly rebased series, and the five-point gap between them is a difference of basket, not of month.
What happened
- The Ministry of Commerce & Industry reported WPI inflation of 9.92 per cent for August 2026, against 9.78 per cent in July, with the All Commodities index at 110.8 on base year 2022-23.
- The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation reported CPI inflation of 4.82 per cent on base 2024=100, rural 5.23 and urban 4.31, with the Consumer Food Price Index at 5.95 per cent (rural 6.13, urban 5.64).
- WPI major groups moved to 7.76 per cent for Primary Articles, 22.93 per cent for Fuel and Power and 8.37 per cent for Manufactured Products, from 8.52, 20.05 and 8.29 in July; Mineral Oils ran at 38.48 per cent.
- CPI's extremes were Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services at 15.17 per cent and Health at 1.34 per cent; the Other personal effects group stood at 44.56 per cent, index 173.99.
- The August WPI is provisional at a weighted response rate of 84.4 per cent; the June 2026 final revised the index from 110.2 to 110.3 and inflation from 9.87 to 9.97 per cent. WPI next releases on 14 October, CPI on 12 October 2026.
For Prelims
- WPI, August 2026: 9.92 per cent YoY on base year 2022-23, against 9.78 per cent in July; index 110.8 versus 110.0; published by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
- CPI, August 2026: 4.82 per cent YoY on base 2024=100, against a final 4.45 per cent in July; combined index 108.74; published by MoSPI.
- WPI major groups and weights: Primary Articles 22.757 weight at 7.76 per cent, Fuel and Power 14.114 at 22.93 per cent, Manufactured Products 63.128 at 8.37 per cent.
- Fuel inside WPI: Mineral Oils 38.48 per cent, Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas 34.41 per cent, Coal and Lignite 1.57 per cent, Electricity -1.73 per cent.
- WPI Food Index: weight 24.99 per cent, made of Food Articles plus Manufacture of Food Products; inflation 7.05 per cent in August against 6.65 per cent in July.
- Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI): 5.95 per cent combined in August, rural 6.13 and urban 5.64, up from 5.52 combined in July; index 110.71.
- CPI division spread: Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous 15.17 per cent, Restaurants and accommodation 8.38, Transport 4.60, Housing and fuels 2.61, Health 1.34.
- Collection machinery: CPI prices from 1407 urban markets and 1465 villages at a 100 per cent response rate; the provisional WPI carries a weighted response rate of 84.4 per cent, the June final 99.3 per cent.
For UPSC: The cleanest available demonstration that wholesale and retail inflation are not two readings of one quantity. Use it wherever an answer needs the measurement caveat before the argument: on price stability and monetary policy transmission, on the rural-urban split in the cost of living, and on the reliability and revision cycle of India's statistical system.
What it is NOT: The WPI release prints a weight against every group (Primary Articles 22.757, Fuel and Power 14.114, Manufactured Products 63.128, Food Index 24.99), while the CPI release gives weights only for the ten items it singles out and none for its divisions or groups; neither publishes a linking factor to its old base, neither says when the new base took effect or warns against comparison with the superseded series, and the only back-series shown is CPI's Annexure-IV index from January 2025 whose inflation column starts at January 2026. Neither release mentions the other index, and neither says anything about the repo rate, the Monetary Policy Committee or any inflation target; the CPI release does give food inflation separately for rural (6.13 per cent) and urban (5.64 per cent).
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.1 · GS2.15 · Linkage L2
Anchor
On the same day in September, one ministry reported inflation at 9.92 per cent and another at 4.82 per cent for the same month. Neither is wrong. A candidate who treats them as a contradiction, or worse as two estimates of one number, has misread what each index is for before the argument even begins.
Substantiation (data)
WPI August 2026: 9.92 per cent, up from 9.78, index 110.8 on base 2022-23, with Fuel and Power at 22.93 per cent and Mineral Oils at 38.48. CPI August 2026: 4.82 per cent combined on base 2024=100, rural 5.23 and urban 4.31, with its housing-and-fuels division at 2.61 per cent.
Comparison
The gap sits almost entirely in fuel. Fuel and Power carries 14.114 of WPI's hundred and ran at 22.93 per cent; the household equivalent, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, ran at 2.61 per cent. Even food splits: WPI's Food Index rose 7.05 per cent against the CFPI's 5.95.
Problematisation
Both series were rebased, WPI to 2022-23 and CPI to 2024=100, and neither release publishes a linking factor or says when the change took effect. Anyone holding an older figure in memory cannot honestly compare it, and the CPI table itself shows inflation rates beginning only at January 2026.
Counterpoint
The divergence is not evidence that one index is unreliable. CPI reports a 100 per cent response rate from 1407 urban markets and 1465 villages; WPI's August figure is provisional at 84.4 per cent weighted response and its June revision moved inflation only from 9.87 to 9.97 per cent.
Position
Wholesale and retail inflation should be read as answers to different questions, one about producer cost and one about household cost. Quote both, name the base year with each, and the spread becomes an argument about where prices are being absorbed rather than a discrepancy to explain away.
Deploys into: Inflation measurement: WPI versus CPI, basket and coverage (GS3.1) · price stability and the rural-urban cost-of-living split · base year revision and comparability of official statistics (GS2.15) · reliability, provisional versus final estimates, and revision cycles in India's data system
Ministry of Commerce & Industry · 2026-09-14 · PRID 2309977 · PIB source ↗