India’s retail inflation rose to 6.09 per cent in October 2026, while food inflation increased to 8.94 per cent, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on the basis of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) with base year 2024.
The year-on-year retail inflation rate stood at 5.54 per cent in September 2026. In October, inflation was higher in rural areas at 6.63 per cent compared with 5.41 per cent in urban areas.
Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), also accelerated to 8.94 per cent in October, against 7.74 per cent in September. Rural and urban food inflation stood at 9.09 per cent and 8.68 per cent, respectively.
According to the data, the combined Consumer Price Index rose to 110.05 in October from 109.49 in September. The rural CPI increased to 110.73 from 110.11, while the urban index rose to 109.22 from 108.71.
Onion prices record highest inflation
Among individual items, onion recorded the highest inflation at 116.22 per cent in October, compared with 108.13 per cent in September.
Garlic prices rose 60.74 per cent, while silver jewellery recorded inflation of 52.39 per cent. Ginger and lemon registered inflation rates of 48.32 per cent and 47.30 per cent, respectively.
On the other hand, potato prices declined 14.24 per cent year-on-year, followed by cauliflower at 10.57 per cent and coconut at 5.60 per cent. Brinjal and cabbage prices fell 3.34 per cent and 1.92 per cent, respectively.
Restaurants, personal care see double-digit inflation
Among major expenditure categories, restaurants and accommodation services recorded inflation of 10.06 per cent in October, while personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services registered 10.14 per cent.
Food and beverages inflation stood at 8.51 per cent, while transport recorded 5.84 per cent. Inflation in clothing and footwear was 4.96 per cent, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels registered 2.90 per cent.
Health-related inflation remained relatively moderate at 2.05 per cent, while education services recorded inflation of 4.02 per cent.
State-wise inflation trends
Among States and Union Territories, Puducherry recorded the highest combined retail inflation at 7.96 per cent in October, followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu at 7.59 per cent.
Andhra Pradesh recorded inflation of 7.25 per cent, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 7.19 per cent, Odisha at 7.17 per cent and Karnataka at 7.07 per cent.
Delhi registered the lowest combined inflation among the listed States and Union Territories at 3.80 per cent, followed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 3.46 per cent and Mizoram at 2.85 per cent.
Price data collection and next release
The MoSPI said prices were collected from 1,407 selected urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages across all States and Union Territories through field visits conducted by the National Statistical Office’s Field Operations Division.
The response rate for October 2026 was 100 per cent in both rural and urban markets.
The ministry said the CPI data for November 2026 would be released on December 14, 2026, or the next working day if the scheduled date falls on a holiday.
State-wise and item-wise indices for October are available on the ministry’s eSankhyiki portal.
The ministry clarified that the October 2026 CPI indices and inflation figures are provisional.
-PIB
