India's January retail inflation comes at 2.75%; govt revises base year

January 2026 CPI-based inflation: The inflation remained close to the Reserve Bank of India's lower tolerance threshold

India’s retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), for January 2026 stood at 2.75 per cent, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Thursday. 

 

The year-on-year inflation rate based on the All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for January came at 2.13 per cent as compared to the same period last year. In rural areas, food prices rose by 1.96 per cent, while in urban areas, they increased by 2.44 per cent.

 

The year-on-year housing inflation rate for January stood at 2.05 per cent. According to the data, housing prices rose 2.39 per cent in rural areas and 1.92 per cent in urban areas.

 

 

Change in base year

 

The CPI inflation data for January 2026 shifted the base year to 2024. This update adjusts the index to reflect how spending patterns have changed over the past twelve years. Under the new structure, services will have a higher weight, while the share assigned to food will be reduced.

 

New additions include rural housing, online media service providers or streaming services, value-added dairy products, barley and its products, pen-drive and external hard disk, attendant, babysitter and exercise equipment.

 

Some of the items removed from the data include VCR, DVD players, radio, tape recorder, second-hand clothing, and coir or rope.

 

Notably, all-India CPI has been revised twice so far, and it currently uses 2012 as the base year. In this index, food and beverages carry the highest weight, followed by housing, fuel and light, and services such as transport, health and education. The weight given to each category is based on official household spending surveys and reflects how an average Indian household spends its money.