India’s retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose marginally to 3.48 per cent in April 2026 from 3.40 per cent in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday.
The inflation rate remained below the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4 per cent. Rural inflation stood at 3.74 per cent, while urban inflation was recorded at 3.16 per cent during the month.
Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), increased to 4.20 per cent in April from 3.87 per cent in March. Rural food inflation was recorded at 4.26 per cent, while urban food inflation stood at 4.10 per cent.
The data showed that prices of several food items, including tomatoes and cauliflower, remained elevated during the month. Tomato inflation stood at 35.28 per cent, while cauliflower prices rose by 25.58 per cent year-on-year.
Among non-food items, silver jewellery registered the highest inflation at 144.34 per cent, followed by gold, diamond and platinum jewellery at 40.72 per cent. Coconut copra prices also remained high with inflation at 44.55 per cent.
At the same time, prices of some essential vegetables continued to decline sharply. Potato prices recorded a deflation of 23.69 per cent, while onion prices fell by 17.67 per cent compared to the previous year.
Housing inflation for April 2026 stood at 2.15 per cent. The corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban areas were 2.65 per cent and 1.96 per cent, respectively.
Division-wise data showed that “Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services” recorded the highest inflation at 17.66 per cent in the combined category. Transport inflation remained largely flat at minus 0.01 per cent.
Among states and Union Territories with a population above 50 lakh, Telangana recorded the highest inflation at 5.81 per cent in April 2026. Puducherry and Tamil Nadu followed with inflation rates of 4.41 per cent and 4.18 per cent, respectively.
Mizoram registered the lowest inflation at 0.69 per cent, while Chhattisgarh and Ladakh recorded inflation rates of 1.77 per cent and 2.02 per cent, respectively.
The ministry said price data were collected from 1,407 urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages across states and Union Territories. During April 2026, price collection was completed in 100 per cent of rural and urban markets.
MoSPI said the CPI data for May 2026 will be released on June 12, 2026.
