Which one among the following items has maximum weight in wholesale pr

Which one among the following items has maximum weight in wholesale price index in India?

Primary article
Fuel and power
Manufactured product
Food item
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2013
The correct answer is C) Manufactured product. This item group holds the maximum weight in the current Wholesale Price Index (WPI) series in India.
– The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in India is a key inflation indicator. It is calculated based on changes in the average price of a basket of goods at the wholesale level.
– The WPI basket is divided into three major groups: Primary Articles, Fuel and Power, and Manufactured Products.
– As per the current WPI series with the base year 2011-12, the approximate weights of these groups are:
– Primary Articles: 22.6%
– Fuel and Power: 13.2%
– Manufactured Products: 64.2%
– Clearly, Manufactured Products have the highest weight among the three main groups.
– “Food item” is not a major group itself but a category that appears within both Primary Articles (e.g., food grains, fruits, vegetables) and Manufactured Products (e.g., processed food products). Therefore, comparing a sub-category like “Food item” directly with main groups is not appropriate based on the standard WPI structure.
The WPI measures inflation at the producer level (wholesale), while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures inflation at the consumer level (retail). For monetary policy decisions, the Reserve Bank of India primarily uses the CPI, though WPI is also monitored for understanding cost-push factors and supply-side pressures.