The correct answer is (a) Food articles.
The wholesale price index (WPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for their output. It is a key indicator of inflation and is used to track changes in the prices of goods and services produced in the economy.
The WPI is calculated by taking a weighted average of the prices of a basket of goods and services. The weights are determined by the importance of each good or service in the economy.
Food articles are assigned the maximum weightage in the WPI because they are a major component of household expenditure. Food prices are also volatile, which means that they can change rapidly. This makes food prices a significant contributor to changes in the WPI.
Non-food articles, fuel, power, light and lubricants, and manufactured products are also included in the WPI, but they are assigned lower weightages than food articles.
The WPI is published monthly by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The latest WPI data is available on the ministry’s website.