The training focuses on identifying markets and key shops for collecting statistics, as sources informed ET.
The ministry designates the most frequented shop in each market as a permanent shop, along with two reserve shops.
“The CPI base updation training programme will empower data collectors to identify the correct markets and correct shops for item identification,” said a source.
The process also includes identifying items for price collection and their specifications. The weights of the items will be determined by the household consumer expenditure survey (HCES), currently underway and scheduled for completion in July 2024.
“The expert group on base revision has already identified the tentative sample size for the base revision exercise. A comprehensive sampling design has been established to cover the rural and urban population,” said the aforementioned source.
The ministry has significantly expanded its sampling frame for the exercise to ensure more robust results. The training will be conducted by the price statistics division of the ministry, responsible for releasing the consumer price index data.
This is the first base revision exercise carried out in nearly a decade. India’s consumer price index is based on the household consumer expenditure survey conducted in 2011-12.
The government discarded the 2017-18 household consumer expenditure survey due to data inconsistencies.
The government is conducting two consecutive surveys for the current HCES. The first survey will be completed this month, after which the government will commence the second survey, set to finish by July next year.
The release of the results will follow the completion of both surveys. The government opted for two surveys to ensure consistency. Experts indicate that India needs to revise its consumer inflation statistics to more accurately reflect consumption patterns.