India, in Infographics: Prices
India’s Retail Inflation Hit 6.09% In October, Above The RBI’s 6% Ceiling For The First Time Since October 2024
Consumer Price Inflation Every Month Since January 2014, With The RBI’s 2% To 6% Band. Hover Or Tap A Bar For Rural And Urban Rates.
Each Bar Is One Month’s Retail Inflation: Above 6%, 2% To 6% Or Below 2%. Hover Or Tap A Bar For The All India, Rural And Urban Rates That Month; Switch To Colour The Bars By Rural Or Urban Inflation. April And May 2020 Were Not Compiled; 2026 Is MoSPI’s New Series.
October 2026
6.09%
From 5.54% In September
Rural
6.63%
Above 6% Since September
Urban
5.41%
Still Inside The Band
Food Price Index
8.94%
Onion Up 116% On A Year Ago
The Bottom Line
Retail Inflation Rose To 6.09% In October 2026, The First Month Above The RBI’s 6% Ceiling Since October 2024. Food Supplied About Half Of It, Villages Felt It More At 6.63% Against 5.41% In Cities, And A Very Low Base From October 2025 Lifted The Rate.
What Pushed It Up
Food Did Half Of It
Food And Drinks, 36.75% Of The Basket, Rose 8.51% And Added 3.13 Of The 6.09 Points. MoSPI’s Fastest Rising Items Were Onion (116%), Garlic (61%), Ginger (48%) And Lemon (47%); Potato (−14%) And Cauliflower (−11%) Got Cheaper.
Beyond Food
Personal Care, Which Includes Gold And Silver Jewellery, Rose 10.14%, And Restaurants And Hotels 10.06%. Housing, Power And Fuel Was Only 2.90%.
A Low Base
In October 2025 Inflation Was 0.25% On The Old Series, And Prices Did Not Rise That Month. In October 2026 They Rose 0.51% In The Month Alone, So The Year On Year Rate Jumped.
Read With Care
October Is Provisional
MoSPI Revises Each Month With The Next Release; Small Changes Are Common.
Two Series
2014 To 2025 Use The Old Series (Base 2012); 2026 Uses The New Series (Base 2024), With A Wider Basket And New Weights. MoSPI Has Not Published One Linked Series Across The Two.
Food And Drinks Versus Food
Food And Drinks (8.51%) Is A Group In The New Basket That Also Holds Tea, Coffee And Juices. Food Inflation In The Headlines (8.94%) Is MoSPI’s Consumer Food Price Index.
