India’s August retail inflation rises to 4.82%, food inflation reaches 5.95%

India’s provisional retail inflation rate was 4.82% in August 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the National Statistics Office’s Consumer Price Index release. The July rate was 4.45% on the final data in the same release.

Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index, reached 5.95% year on year in August, compared with 5.52% in July. The rural CPI rate was 5.23%, while the urban rate was 4.31%. Food inflation was 6.13% in rural areas and 5.64% in urban areas.

The CPI is an average across a basket of goods and services; a household’s experience can differ with its spending pattern and local prices. The year-on-year rate compares the index with August 2025, so it is not a claim that prices rose 4.82% in one month.

The figures are reported on the 2024 base and remain provisional for August. Readers comparing older series or individual commodity prices should check the statistical release’s definitions and revisions.

Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation via PIB, September 14, 2026.