As discussions with e-commerce companies are ongoing, as previously reported by ET, scanner data is also among the options under consideration. Scanner data sets contain information recorded by retailers on consumer purchases.
“We are in touch with the UNSD, the World bank, and the IMF since this is a relatively new area,” a senior official told ET. “Through these institutions, we are also engaging with other countries. Few nations have incorporated it, and we will likely be the leading ones,” they added.
Australia has made some progress in this field and has been contacted through the World Bank and the UN, the official noted.
The ministry has also assigned research institutions in India to study the inclusion of e-commerce in the CPI.
The revised CPI series is expected to be ready by the second half of this year and will be officially released in January 2026 by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI).
To ensure a smooth transition, the new and existing CPI series will run concurrently as part of a pilot phase, they added. “We have our internal group of researchers who continuously analyse the data and provide feedback,” said an official.
In response to an email sent by ET, the World Bank said it will co-host a workshop with MoSPI this year on leveraging alternate data sources for official statistics.
One of the topics that may be covered in the workshop is the enhancement of price statistics using scanner data, which could include e-commerce data, it added.
The United Kingdom has made notable progress in this area and has agreed to lead discussions on this subject, the World Bank said.
IMF and UNSD did not respond to ET emails till press time.
Content Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com