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The latest CPI inflation for January 2026 remains within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) mandated tolerance band for the first time since August 2025.
CPI Inflation In January 2026.
India’s retail inflation in January 2026, under the newly introduced Consumer Price Index (CPI) series, stood at 2.75 per cent. It is within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) mandated tolerance band for the first time since August 2025.
The CPI inflation had stood at 1.3% in December 2025, which was based on the earlier CPI series.
The latest reading marks the highest inflation level since May 2025, when it stood at 2.82%. Food inflation, a key driver for household prices, came in at a moderate 2.13% during the month.
Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “The CPI inflation came in line with expectations. While details are still awaited, the core inflation looks significantly lower than our expectations. While inflation trajectory remains fairly benign, we believe the RBI’s rate-cutting cycle has come to an end, with the RBI likely to continue to hold rates on pause for an extended period through CY26 at least.”
Under the new arrangement, the base year has been revised from 2012 to 2024 using Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24.
Further, now there are 12 Divisions in place of 6 Groups in accordance to Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018.
The new additions also comprise of rural housing, online media service provider/streaming services, value added dairy products, barley & its product, pen-drive and external hard disk, attendant, babysitter and exercise equipment.
The year-on-year inflation rate based on All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for the month of January is recorded at 2.13% (Provisional).
Corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 1.96% and 2.44%, respectively.
The year-on-year Housing inflation rate for the month of January is recorded at 2.05% (Provisional) and the corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 2.39% and 1.92%, respectively.
For the first-time, the data includes rural house rent for improving coverage of rural housing consumption.
What Has Changed Under the New CPI Series
The new CPI series reflects an updated consumption basket and revised weightings that better capture current household spending patterns. Compared with the earlier framework, the revised index places greater emphasis on services and urban consumption while recalibrating the weight of food and fuel items. As a result, inflation readings under the new series may not be directly comparable with older data points, particularly during transition months, even though underlying price trends remain broadly stable.
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February 12, 2026, 16:39 IST
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