With an aim to map economic activities more accurately and ensure compatibility with growth numbers, the government will launch the new Index of Industrial Production (IIP) series with a new base year of 2011-12 on May 9, 2017, which will capture industrial activities on monthly basis. At present, the IIP has the base year of 2004-05 which was revised in 2011.
The government’s move to change the baseline is expected to bring in more accuracy in mapping the level of economic activity and calculating other numbers like national accounts. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has already changed the base year for the country's national accounts, including the gross domestic product (GDP) and the gross value addition (GVA). The retail inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) is also calculated on the base year of 2011-12.
The new base year of 2011-12 has been finalised and a high-level panel had firmed up the methodology for the IIP index. Besides, the government is working to change the base year of the wholesale price index (WPI) to 2011-12. The base year is revised periodically to capture the changes in the structure and composition of the industry over time due to technological changes, economic reforms and consumption pattern of the people.