CPI overhaul: Govt to track Amazon and Flipkart prices, inflation gauge to reflect digital shopping boom
India’s inflation index is set for its biggest makeover in years, with the government preparing to pull price data straight from e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. The plan marks a decisive shift in how retail inflation will be measured — bringing online shopping, streaming services and digital airfares into the equation.Officials say the move comes as India’s consumption patterns tilt rapidly towards digital spending, Reuters reported. A private study estimated that the country had 270 million online shoppers in 2024, a figure projected to grow by 22% every year.
How the new system will work
Saurabh Garg, secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, told Reuters that the ministry has already begun scraping prices in 12 cities with populations above 2.5 million. Talks are also underway with platforms for direct data access.“E-commerce is a growing share of household spending and the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey shows it’s significant enough to be reflected in the CPI basket,” Garg said. “The aim is to make the index more representative and timely.”E-commerce firms will be required to share weekly average prices of goods, which will then be cross-verified with wider datasets to avoid skews. The reworked index is expected to roll out early next year with fresh weightages, reflecting the survey finding that Indians now spend a smaller share of their household budgets on food.
From food-heavy to digital-heavy
The upcoming CPI basket will not just update food and clothing shares but also factor in categories where digital transactions dominate. This includes airfares and streaming-media subscriptions, which are set to be pulled from online sources.
Part of a bigger statistical revamp
The inflation index overhaul is just one element of a wider statistical upgrade. Garg said a new GDP series with 2022-23 as the base year is also being prepared. Earlier this year, the ministry began releasing a new investment survey and more frequent employment data, though some economists have questioned their accuracy.To improve labour data, the ministry has nearly doubled household coverage in its monthly employment reports from about 45,000 earlier. “The larger sample for monthly periodic labour force survey, thus, ensures that even on a monthly basis, the estimates are precise and robust for making informed decisions,” Garg said.He added “Furthermore, the measurement framework of the PLFS is aligned with internationally recognized standards, ensuring comparability and credibility.”
Services to get their own index
Alongside the CPI and GDP updates, the ministry is designing a new Index of Services Production (ISP) as a quarterly tracker of output in the services sector. Services account for over half of India’s GDP but are currently monitored less frequently than manufacturing.“This is likely to be rolled out from the middle of next year,” Garg said.
