From January 1, price collection for CPI to be done through CAPI tablets

In what is expected to improve the accuracy and speed of data collection for retail inflation, the government will start using tablets for collection of data on prices from next year.

According to sources, the ministry of statistics and programme implementation is already undertaking a pilot using computer assisted personal interview (CAPI) electronic tablets for price collection for consumer price index.

“From January 1, price collection for CPI will be done fully through CAPI tablets. From November, a pilot testing is being undertaken to iron out any chinks in the system,” said a person familiar with the development.

The move comes at a time when the government is also working on updation of the base year and basket of the consumer price index. A new CPI with a base year of 2024 will be released in 2026 with an overhauled basket of goods based on the household consumer expenditure survey.

The updated CPI with the 2024 base year will be released for January 2026 on February 12, 2026. This updated index will use CAPI tablets for collection of data.

From paper aided personal interviews where surveyors noted down the responses, the ministry has slowly moved away to CAPI tablets and cloud storage for most of its surveys. This has helped improve the accuracy of data and also cut down in the collection and compilation of data for various surveys. Digital data collection through CAPI is now used for most surveys of the National Sample Survey and the National Statistics Office.