1.Base Year – The year against which price changes are measured. It is set to 2012=100 for the current CPI series in India, meaning all price indices are compared to 2012 prices.
2.Year – The calendar year (e.g., 2024, 2025) for which the CPI data is recorded.
3.Month – The specific month (e.g., January, February) in which price data is collected and reported.
4.State – Represents different Indian states for which CPI data is calculated separately. Some major and minor states have their own indices.
5.Sector – Refers to the classification of CPI data into Rural, Urban, and Combined (Rural + Urban) to reflect price variations in different regions.
6.Group – A broad classification of goods and services in the CPI basket, such as Food & Beverages, Housing, Clothing & Footwear, Fuel & Light, Transport, etc.
7.Subgroup – A more detailed classification within a group. For example, under Food & Beverages, subgroups include Cereals, Pulses, Milk, Meat, Vegetables, etc.
8.Index – The Consumer Price Index (CPI) value, which represents the relative change in prices compared to the base year (2012=100). If the index is 150, it means prices have increased by 50% since 2012.
9.Inflation (%) – The percentage change in the CPI compared to the same month in the previous year. This shows how much prices have risen over a year.
10.Item – Refers to specific products or services within a subgroup, such as wheat, rice, petrol, electricity, rent, bus fare, etc.