New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- The ministry of statistics and programme implementation (Mospi) has opened a discussion that goes beyond statistical jargon: should free goods be included in the consumer price index (CPI)? At first glance, this seems like an arcane statistical question. But dig deeper, and it reveals fundamental tensions about what we're actually trying to measure when we track retail inflation and the cost of living.

The question gets its urgency from the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Under this integrated food security scheme, the government provides free foodgrains to about 75% of India's rural population and 50% of urban households. When a programme of this magnitude touches so many lives, how we account for ...