The retail inflation under the revised Consumer Price Index (CPI) series stood at 2.75 per cent in January, the first reading with a new base year of 2024, the Statistics Ministry said on Wednesday.
The updated series aims to better reflect current household spending patterns.
Officials cautioned that the January print is not directly comparable with December’s 1.33 per cent inflation rate with 2012-base year.
The revised series updates the consumption basket to align with current expenditure trends. Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said the overhaul will strengthen the data foundation for policy decisions.
“Since the CPI basket is now aligned with recent expenditure data, the inflation signals derived from this will more closely match economic conditions. This improves the information basis for calibrating monetary and fiscal policy,” he said.
Under the new series, food inflation in January was 2.13 per cent, while housing inflation came in at 2.05 per cent.
Price pressures were uneven across categories. Garlic, onion, potato, arhar/tur dal and peas saw the lowest inflation rates, while silver jewellery, tomato, coconut and copra, gold and diamond jewellery, platinum jewellery, and coconut oil registered the sharpest increases.
Nageswaran said the reweighting captures structural changes in household consumption as incomes rise.
“At the macro level, this reflects a progressive diversification of expenditure towards health, education, mobility and connectivity — typical of an economy witnessing rising incomes and living standards,” he said.
He added that if volatility in the CPI moderates under the revised basket, it could lend greater stability to fiscal outlays, dearness allowance adjustments and inflation-linked bonds, all of which are pegged to the index.
Published on February 12, 2026