India’s annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), for December 2020, stood at 1.22 per cent over December 2019. The index for textiles increased by 1.63 per cent, while it decreased by 0.43 per cent for apparel in December, according to the provisional data released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The official WPI for all commodities (Base: 2011-12 = 100) for the month of December 2020 increased to 124.5 from previous month’s 124.2, showing positive inflation for the fifth consecutive month since April this year when the economy was hit by COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns.
The index for manufactured products (weight 64.23 per cent) for December 2020 increased by 1.40 per cent to 123.0 from 121.3 for the month of November 2020. The index for ‘Manufacture of Textiles’ sub-group too rose by 1.63 per cent to 118.3 from previous month’s 116.4. The index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ sub-group, however, decreased by 0.43 per cent to 139.0 from previous month’s 139.6.
The index for primary articles (weight 22.62 per cent) decreased by 3.11 per cent to 146.5 in December 2020 from previous month’s 151.2. The index for fuel and power (weight 13.15 per cent) however increased by 3.18 per cent to 94.2.
Meanwhile, the all-India consumer price index (CPI) on base 2012=100 stood at 157.3 (provisional) in December 2020 compared to 158.9 (final) in November 2020, according to the Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
