New industry data, WPI series set to be released this year

The Central Statistics Office is expected to release updated indices this year to measure factory output and wholesale prices. The indices will have a wider basket of commodities and reporting units to rein in volatility in monthly data trends.

The updated indices, with the base year as 2011-12, as against the current 2004-05, will also strictly implement the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008, which can penalise reporting units for not furnishing timely and correct data.

“As of now, I will stay with the target we have announced that we will hope to have it in place by the next financial year,” said TCA Anant, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

He cautioned that it may not be released from April but later in the year as the CSO is still working with production units for data and administrative approvals are yet to come in.

The move is also expected to bring the indices in line with the new series to measure the gross domestic product.

The updated Index of Industrial Production, based on a formula mooted by a panel led by former Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri, will have a more broad based frame of factories using data from the Annual Survey of Industries.

It will also have a bigger basket, with 450 items as against 399 items in the current index.

Of these, more than half the items will be new to the index — including newer models of TVs and computers (Plasma and iPads) — to capture modern-day consumption trends.

To check volatility and misreporting, eight factories per item will be used as reporting units.

The sectoral shares of mining, manufacturing and electricity production in the IIP will also undergo a marginal re-jig and the use-based classification of industries is also under review.

Sources said that eventually, the Centre also plans to have a separate index to measure production in micro, small and medium enterprises while the IIP would be more focussed on organised manufacturing units.

The new series of the Wholesale Price Index inflation is expected to be closer to the producer price index as it is expected to measure price changes from the perspective of the seller.

Sources said the Centre is looking to deviate from the current WPI formula, which includes excise duty. Instead, the new WPI inflation series may measure the price as the listed price excluding trade discounts.