India Inflation (CPI): Headline, Food Inflation and RBI Policy Rate

MoSPI publishes the all-India Consumer Price Index (CPI) each month, now on a 2024=100 base. The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) measures food inflation.

Year-on-year CPI inflation for July 2026 was 4.45% (provisional) [1]. Rural inflation was 4.84% and urban inflation 3.96% [1]. Food inflation based on CFPI was 5.52%, with 5.79% in rural areas and 5.05% in urban areas [1]. Housing inflation was 2.22% [1].

Inflation rose through 2026. Headline CPI inflation was 3.21% in February 2026 and 3.40% in March 2026 [3]. Food inflation was 3.47% in February and 3.87% in March [3].

Food inflation was 2.13% in January 2026 [4] and 4.78% in May 2026 [2]. By July 2026 it had reached 5.52% [1].

The RBI noted that CPI inflation rose to 4.4% in June 2026 after remaining below target for 16 consecutive months [5]. The increase was driven mainly by food and fuel inflation, with fuel prices revised after a sharp spike in international energy prices [5]. Core inflation (CPI excluding food and fuel) was unchanged at 3.9% in May-June 2026 [5].

On the earlier CPI series, MoSPI reported headline inflation of 2.82% in May 2025 and 1.55% in July 2025 [7].

At its 62nd meeting on 3-5 August 2026, the RBI Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep the policy repo rate at 5.25% [5]. The standing deposit facility rate remains at 5.00%, and the marginal standing facility rate and Bank Rate at 5.50% [5]. The MPC kept a neutral stance [5].

The RBI website lists the cash reserve ratio at 3.00% [6]. The next MPC meeting is scheduled for 5-7 October 2026 [5].

The RBI projects CPI inflation for 2026-27 at 5.0%, with 4.7% in Q2, 5.9% in Q3 and 5.5% in Q4 [5]. It projects 5.3% for Q1 of 2027-28 [5]. Core inflation is projected at 4.3% for 2026-27 [5].

The RBI flagged El Nino effects on rainfall and higher food, fuel and input prices as upside risks [5].

Inflation rates are year-on-year changes in the all-India CPI and CFPI published by MoSPI. Figures from 2026 use the new CPI series with base year 2024. The 2025 figures for May and July use the earlier CPI series and are not strictly comparable.

• Latest-month figures are provisional and may be revised in the next release.
• RBI projections are forecasts and are labelled with a P suffix in charts.
• The numerical inflation target and tolerance band were not captured in the pages reviewed for this report, so they are not stated here.