India’s retail inflation, measured by the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI), stood at 2.75% in January 2026 compared with January 2025, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
January CPI under the new base year is 142 basis points higher than December’s 1.33% reading under the old series.
Inflation in rural areas was recorded at 2.73%, while urban inflation came in slightly higher at 2.77%, indicating broadly stable price trends across regions.
The January print marks the release of CPI data with the revised base year of 2024=100. The updated item basket and weights are derived from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24.
The revision aims to improve coverage and representativeness of the inflation measure, while introducing more granular data to support policymaking and data-driven decisions by financial institutions and businesses.
Food inflation, based on the All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), was 2.13% year-on-year in January. Rural food inflation stood at 1.96%, while urban food inflation was higher at 2.44%, suggesting relatively contained food price pressures.
Housing inflation was recorded at 2.05% during the month, with rural housing inflation at 2.39% and urban at 1.92%.
MoSPI also said it has undertaken a comprehensive revision of the base years for key macroeconomic indicators. The proposed new base year for Gross Domestic Product and the Index of Industrial Production is 2022–23, while the CPI base year has been updated to 2024.
The revision process is being guided by Technical Advisory Committees and Expert Groups comprising members from academia, central and state governments, and the Reserve Bank of India. It includes methodological improvements and incorporation of new data sources, including the latest survey findings.
(More details will be updated)
