India’s retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 3.48% in April 2026 from 3.40% in March 2026, according to data released by MoSPI. Food inflation based on Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) increased to 4.20% in April from 3.87% in March.
Rural inflation stood at 3.74% in April 2026, while urban inflation came at 3.16%. Rural food inflation was higher at 4.26%, compared to 4.10% in urban areas. Housing inflation for April was recorded at 2.15%, with rural housing inflation at 2.65% and urban at 1.96%.
Among sectors, personal care and social protection saw the highest inflation at 17.66%. Restaurants and accommodation services inflation stood at 4.20%, education services at 3.15%, clothing and footwear at 2.80%, and recreation, sports and culture at 2.11%. Transport inflation remained negative at -0.01%.
Potato prices saw the biggest decline in April with inflation at -23.69%, compared to -19.03% in March. Onion inflation remained negative at -17.67%, while motor cars and jeeps recorded -7.12%. Peas and chickpeas were down -6.75%, and air conditioner prices fell -5.06%.
Silver jewellery recorded the highest inflation among key items at 144.34% in April 2026. Coconut copra inflation stood at 44.55%, while gold, diamond and platinum jewellery inflation came at 40.72%. Tomato inflation was 35.28%, and cauliflower inflation stood at 25.58%.
Among large states with over 50 lakh population, Telangana recorded the highest combined inflation at 5.81%, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 4.20%, Tamil Nadu at 4.18%, Karnataka at 4.00%, and Rajasthan at 3.77%. Food inflation in Karnataka was the highest at 6.08%, while Telangana recorded 6.03%.
The CPI index at the national level for April 2026 stood at 105.12 for combined categories, compared to 104.84 in March. Rural CPI index was 105.28 and urban CPI index was 104.92. CFPI index stood at 104.39 combined, with rural at 104.17 and urban at 104.78.
The government said price data was collected from 1407 urban markets and 1465 villages across all states and UTs. During April 2026, data collection coverage was 100%, while reported market prices were 99.44% for rural markets and 99.82% for urban markets. CPI data for May 2026 will be released on 12 June 2026.
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