New Delhi, Feb. 13 -- India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday said the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series using 2024 as a base year captures the transition in household consumption trends over the past decade, with greater spending going towards services even as the share of food in domestic budgets declined.
It will help fiscal and monetary policy makers formulate better responses to evolving economic conditions, he said.
"The lower weightage for the otherwise volatile group of food and beverages may make the headline inflation less volatile, ceteris paribus. The monetary policy response in particular could become more focused on aggregate demand pressures rather than dealing with supply-induced inflation and dea...