More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--India Feb CPI inflation 3.21% 
--India Feb CPI inflation 3.21% vs 2.74% Jan 
--Informist Poll estimated India Feb CPI inflation at 3.1% 
--India Feb CPI food inflation 3.47% vs 2.13% Jan 
--India Feb CPI rural inflation 3.37% vs 2.73% Jan 
--India Feb CPI urban inflation 3.02% vs 2.75% Jan 
--India Feb CPI food and beverages inflation 3.35% 
--India Feb CPI paan, tobacco, and intoxicants inflation 3.49% 
--India Feb CPI clothing and footwear inflation 2.81% 
--India Feb CPI housing and utilities inflation 1.52% 
--India Feb CPI furnishings, household equipment inflation 1.40% 
--India Feb CPI health inflation 1.90% 
--India Feb CPI transport inflation -0.05% 
--India Feb CPI information and communication inflation 0.25% 
--India Feb CPI recreation, sport, and culture inflation 2.21% 
--India Feb CPI educational services inflation 3.33% 
--India Feb CPI restaurants, accommodation svcs inflation 2.73%
--India Feb CPI personal care and miscellaneous inflation 19.64% 
--India Feb CPI general index up 0.1% on month 
--India Feb CPI food price index down 0.2% on month 
--India Feb CPI core inflation 3.4% vs 3.4% Jan

 

NEW DELHI – India's headline inflation, based on the new Consumer Price Index, rose to 3.21% in February from 2.74% a month before because of an unfavourable base effect and higher food inflation, data released Thursday by the statistics ministry showed. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel items, remained steady at 3.4%.

 

CPI inflation in February was slightly higher than expectations. According to an Informist Poll, headline inflation was seen at 3.1% in February. CPI inflation was 3.61% in February 2025, based on the old series with 2012 as the base year.

 

The statistics ministry released last month the new CPI series, with 2024 as the base year, marking the first revision of the key indicator in 11 years. The new series tracks prices of 358 items, up from 299 items in the old series. 

 

Retail food inflation rose to 3.47% in February from 2.13% in January, driven by tomato and cauliflower prices. Tomato inflation was 45.29% last month, while cauliflower inflation was 43.77%. Food and beverages inflation was 3.35% in February.

 

A year-on-year fall in prices of garlic, onion, and potato kept food inflation from rising further in February. Garlic inflation was the lowest across the CPI in February at (-)31.09%, followed by onion inflation at (-)28.20%, and potato inflation at (-)18.46%. 

 

The food price index was down 0.2% month-on-month in February, while the general index was up 0.1% from January.

 

February rural inflation at 3.37% was higher than urban inflation at 3.02%. In January, rural inflation was at 2.73%, marginally below the urban inflation of 2.75%.

 

Among the main groups, the personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services category recorded the highest inflation in February at 19.64%, driven by jewellery. Silver jewellery recorded the highest inflation in February at 160.84%, followed by gold, diamond, and platinum jewellery at 48.16%.

 

"The main upward thrust comes from the personal care segment, where inflation was 19.6%. The relentless increase in prices of silver and gold has contributed to this increase," Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, said in a note. "This will be a factor that will continue to exert pressure in March, too, given the global uncertainty. Further, the rupee depreciation would also add to this cost."

 

Despite the rise in February, retail inflation remained below the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4%. Inflation is expected to rise in the months ahead due to higher food prices. The sharp rise in crude oil prices due to the conflict in West Asia will also increase inflationary pressures, economists said.

 

"February does not consider the war effect, and hence March inflation would reflect the initial impact in terms of higher fuel prices, especially of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), Sabnavis said. Bank of Baroda expects March inflation to be around 3.2-3.5%.

 

Based on the old CPI series, the RBI has projected retail inflation to average 3.2% in the March quarter and then rise to 4.2% by the September quarter. Crisil has projected India's CPI inflation to average 4.3% in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) compared with near 2% in the current financial year.

 

The following table details the general index of the CPI and inflation for February:

 

	Weight	Index for February	Month-on-month change (in %)	Inflation for February	Inflation for January*
Food and beverages	36.75	103.9	(-)0.2	3.35%	2.11%
Paan, tobacco and intoxicants	2.99	105.4	0.9	3.49%	2.86%
Clothing and footwear	6.38	106.1	0.2	2.81%	2.98%
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels	17.67	102.1	0.1	1.52%	1.53%
Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance	4.47	103.1	0.1	1.40%	1.45%
Health	6.1	103.9	0.0	1.90%	2.19%
Transport	8.8	100.7	0.0	(-)0.05%	0.09%
Information and communication	3.61	103.4	0.1	0.25%	0.16%
Recreation, sport and culture	1.52	104.2	0.1	2.21%	2.32%
Education services	3.33	105.4	0.0	3.33%	3.35%
Restaurants and accommodation services	3.35	106.0	0.2	2.73%	2.87%
Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services	5.04	124.5	1.5	19.64%	19.02%
Consumer Food Price Index	34.78	103.9	(-)0.2	3.47%	2.13%
All India	100	104.6	0.1	3.21%	2.74%

 

Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

* Final inflation numbers for January were only available for the Consumer Food Price Index and headline inflation. All other inflation numbers for January are based on the provisional numbers released on Feb. 12.  End

 

Reported by Shubham Rana and Shweta

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.