New Delhi, May 9: The new wholesale price-based inflation basket will have as many as 676 products, including LCD televisions, mobile phones and packaged drinking water, among others. It is likely to be rolled out in June or July.

The new list, with 2004-05 as base year, will have 241 new categories and drop obsolete items like typewriters and VCRs. It is expected to provide a more realistic picture of the price rise and its impact on ordinary citizens. The current wholesale price index basket has 435 items.
“We are making efforts to release data according to the new basket and base year next month or in July,” a senior official said, adding that with the new items added, data reporting would be more representative and give a better picture of the price situation.
“While the existing system is accurate, the new series with a bigger basket will be more credible as all major products have been included,” he said.
The Reserve Bank is the biggest consumer of inflation data as these help it to formulate and monitor policies.
The wholesale price inflation is now calculated with 1993-94 as the base year.
    — PTI