India’s retail inflation stood at 4.82 per cent in August, compared with 4.45 per cent in July and 4.38 per cent in June, according to data released by MoSPI.
India’s retail inflation accelerated to 4.82 per cent in August from 4.45 per cent in July, while food inflation climbed to 5.95 per cent, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
India’s retail inflation rose to 4.82 per cent in August 2026, marking a sharp increase from 4.45 per cent in July and 4.38 per cent in June, according to provisional Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the National Statistical Office under MoSPI.
The August reading is based on the new CPI series with 2024 as the base year. Inflation was higher in rural areas at 5.23 per cent, compared with 4.31 per cent in urban areas. In July, rural and urban inflation stood at 4.84 per cent and 3.96 per cent, respectively.
Food inflation rises sharply
Food prices remained a key driver of the increase. Inflation based on the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) rose to 5.95 per cent in August, from 5.52 per cent in July. Rural food inflation stood at 6.13 per cent, while urban food inflation was 5.64 per cent.
The latest data marks the eighth consecutive month of acceleration in headline inflation, from 2.74 per cent in January to 4.82 per cent in August. Inflation had risen from 3.21 per cent in February and 3.40 per cent in March to 3.48 per cent in April, 3.93 per cent in May, 4.38 per cent in June and 4.45 per cent in July.
More from BusinessOnion, garlic and ginger prices remain elevated
Among individual items, ginger recorded inflation of 73.82 per cent in August, while onion and garlic inflation stood at 48.27 per cent and 43.60 per cent, respectively. Silver jewellery recorded inflation of 107.11 per cent, while gold, diamond and platinum jewellery inflation was 35.53 per cent.
At the other end, tomato prices fell 31.09 per cent year-on-year in August, while potato prices declined 13.14 per cent. Motor cars and jeeps recorded inflation of -6.72 per cent.
Services also show pockets of price pressure
The division-wise data shows personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recording the highest inflation at 15.17 per cent in August. Restaurants and accommodation services saw inflation of 8.38 per cent, while food and beverages recorded 5.66 per cent. Transport inflation stood at 4.60 per cent.
The data also showed a divergence across states. Among states with populations above 50 lakh, Telangana recorded the highest headline inflation at 6.27 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu at 5.92 per cent, Madhya Pradesh at 5.55 per cent, Andhra Pradesh at 5.53 per cent and Odisha at 5.52 per cent.
MoSPI said price data for August was collected from 1,407 urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages, with a 100 per cent response rate in both rural and urban markets.
