India’s retail inflation rose to 4.45 per cent in July 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday. The inflation rate was 4.38 per cent in June.
The CPI-based inflation rate for July, calculated on the new 2024=100 base, stood at 4.84 per cent in rural areas and 3.96 per cent in urban areas, compared with 4.74 per cent and 3.93 per cent, respectively, in June.
Food inflation rises to 5.52%
Food prices remained a major contributor to inflationary pressures in July. Inflation based on the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) rose to 5.52 per cent, up from 5.32 per cent in June.
Rural food inflation stood at 5.79 per cent, while urban food inflation was 5.05 per cent.
Housing inflation was recorded at 2.22 per cent in July, with rural housing inflation at 2.80 per cent and urban housing inflation at 2.01 per cent.
Among major divisions, food and beverages recorded combined inflation of 5.24 per cent. Restaurants and accommodation services registered inflation of 7.72 per cent, while personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recorded the highest division-level inflation at 14.77 per cent.
Transport inflation stood at 4.43 per cent, while clothing and footwear recorded inflation of 3.38 per cent.
Potato, tomato prices ease
At the individual-item level, potato prices declined 16.56 per cent year-on-year in July, while tomato prices fell 4.59 per cent. Lady’s finger and peas also recorded negative inflation of 5.52 per cent and 5.27 per cent, respectively.
On the other hand, silver jewellery recorded the highest inflation among the listed items at 109.84 per cent. Ginger prices rose 83.62 per cent, while garlic recorded inflation of 35.36 per cent.
Gold, diamond and platinum jewellery registered inflation of 32.98 per cent, while onion prices rose 22.54 per cent.
Telangana records highest inflation among major states
Among states with a population of more than 50 lakh according to the 2011 Census, Telangana recorded the highest combined CPI inflation at 6.32 per cent in July.
Andhra Pradesh followed with 5.72 per cent, while Tamil Nadu recorded 5.44 per cent. Puducherry reported inflation of 5.41 per cent and Madhya Pradesh 4.91 per cent.
At the national level, the CPI index increased to 107.94 in July, from 107.00 in June. The rural CPI rose to 108.34 from 107.24, while the urban index increased to 107.45 from 106.69.
The government said price data were collected from 1,407 urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages across all states and Union Territories. The response rate during July was 100 per cent in both rural and urban markets.
The CPI data for August 2026 will be released on September 14, 2026, or the next working day if the date is a holiday.
