India’s January retail inflation comes at 2.75%; govt revises base year | Economy & Policy News
India’s retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), for January 2026 stood at 2.75%, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) on Thursday.
The year-on-year inflation rate based on the All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for January stood at 2.13 percent compared to the same period last year. In rural areas, food prices increased by 1.96 percent, while in urban areas they increased by 2.44 percent.
The year-on-year housing inflation rate for January stood at 2.05 percent. According to the data, housing prices increased by 2.39 percent in rural areas and 1.92 percent in urban areas.
Base year change
CPI inflation data for January 2026 moved the base year to 2024. This update adjusts the index to reflect changing spending habits over the past twelve years. Under the new structure, services will have a greater weight, while the share allocated to food will be reduced.
New additions include rural accommodation, online media service providers or streaming services, value-added dairy products, barley and its products, USB stick and external hard drive, attendant, babysitter and exercise equipment.
Some of the items removed from the data include VCRs, DVD players, radios, tape recorders, second-hand clothing, and coconut fibers or ropes.
It should be noted that the all-India CPI has been revised twice so far and currently uses 2012 as the base year. In this index, food and beverages have the highest weight, followed by housing, fuel and lighting, and services such as transport, health and education. The weight assigned to each category is based on official household expenditure surveys and reflects how an average Indian household spends its money.
