Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

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Wholesale Price Index (WPI)- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 3: Indian Economy- Issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Recently released Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data shows an increased Inflation in wholesale prices to 11.39% in August, staying in the double digits for the fifth month in a row.
- Inflation in manufactured products escalated for the fourth month in a row to 11.4% as the second-order effects of high fuel prices kicked in.

About WPI: The Wholesale Price Index represents the price of a basket of goods that are sold at wholesale rates. WPI focuses on the price of goods that are traded between corporations.
- It basically measures inflation at the factory level and not at the consumption point.
- WPI amounts to the average change in prices of commodities at the wholesale level.
Key Objective of WPI: to monitor the price drifts that reflect demand and supply in manufacturing, construction and industry.
- Also helps in assessing macroeconomic as well as microeconomic conditions of an economy.
Compiling (Publishing) Authority: It is published by the Office of Economic Advisor (Ministry of Commerce & Industry).
Base Year for WPI: The base year of All-India WPI has been revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in 2017.

Parameter	WPI	CPI
Publishing Authority	Office of Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce & Industry	– CPI (Combined) is compiled by Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. – CPI (Industrial Worker), CPI (Rural Labourer) and CPI (Agricultural Labourer) are compiled by Labour Bureau
Base Year	2011-12	2012
Commodities Covered	Captures price changes in Goods only	Capture Price changes in both Goods and Services
Relevance	Tracks inflation at the producer level Relevant for Producers	Tracks changes in prices levels at the consumer level Relevant for Consumers