The Indian Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation announced plans to include price data from Amazon and Flipkart in the country's inflation estimates.
Changes in Inflation Calculation Methodology
Statistics Minister Rao Singh noted that current data is outdated and that it is necessary to consider shifts in consumer spending habits. He claimed that including e-commerce prices would strengthen inflation data, as such practices are already being implemented in the U.S. and South Korea.
Collaboration with E-commerce Platforms
Secretary Saurabh Garg stated that price scraping on major e-commerce websites is underway. The Ministry aims to cover 12 cities with populations over 2.5 million. E-commerce platforms have received formal requests to provide weekly average prices, which will then be cross-checked against other datasets to balance out errors.
Comments from the Ministry and RBI
Garg also mentioned work on a new Index of Service Production (ISP) to estimate quarterly outputs in the service sector, which accounts for nearly 50% of India’s GDP. At the same time, the RBI emphasized that its Flexible Inflation Targeting framework has served its purpose, maintaining stable prices despite external challenges.
The integration of e-commerce data into inflation calculations signifies India's efforts to adapt to modern consumption realities and enhance the accuracy of financial indicators.
