India's Retail Inflation at 4.82%: What the August 2026 CPI Data Says and How It Is Measured
India's retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 4.82% in August 2026, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) release published by the Press Information Bureau on September 14. That is up from 4.45% in July (final) and above the RBI's 4% target. This is the figure behind the debate on whether the RBI raises rates.
The headline numbers
| Measure (year on year) | July 2026 (final) | August 2026 (provisional) |
|---|---|---|
| CPI, combined | 4.45% | 4.82% |
| CPI, rural | 4.84% | 5.23% |
| CPI, urban | 3.96% | 4.31% |
| Food (CFPI), combined | 5.52% | 5.95% |
The overall index stood at 108.74 in August. The base year is now 2024 = 100, as the release title states.
What rose and what fell
The PIB release lists the items with the highest and lowest inflation:
- Falling prices: tomato (-31.09%), potato (-13.14%), motor cars and jeeps (-6.72%), lady's finger (-5.41%).
- Fast-rising prices: onion (48.27%), garlic (43.60%), gold, diamond and platinum jewellery (35.53%), ginger (73.82%) and silver jewellery (107.11%) appear among the highest inflation items in the release.
By category, the release shows personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services at 15.17% and restaurants and accommodation at 8.38%. Food and beverages were up 5.66%, while housing, water, electricity and fuels rose 2.61%.
How CPI is measured
CPI tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services that households buy. The release explains how the data is collected:
- Prices are gathered from 1,407 urban markets (including online markets) and 1,465 villages across all states and union territories.
- Field staff of the National Statistics Office collect them in person on a weekly roster.
- The response rate in August 2026 was 100% in both rural and urban markets.
- Prices of petrol, diesel and LPG are taken as of the 15th of the month.
- Each item has a weight that reflects how much households spend on it. For example, potato has a weight of 0.7549 and onion 0.7006 in the release's tables.
Inflation is the percentage change in the index compared with the same month a year earlier.
Why a gap with your own experience is normal
The CPI is an average. If your spending is mostly on rent, school fees or travel, your personal inflation can differ from the headline. Rural and urban rates differ too, as the table shows.
Why this matters now
Mint reported on October 1 that analysts expect retail inflation to peak around the festive quarter, with crude above USD 100 and the rupee weak. See why oil is still near USD 100 and why the rupee is falling. Higher inflation is one reason economists expect the RBI to raise the repo rate.
When is the next number?
The release says CPI for September 2026 will be published on October 12, 2026 (Monday), or the next working day if that is a holiday.
Facts checked October 2, 2026. August figures are provisional and can be revised.
Sources
- PIB / MoSPI, "Press Release of Consumer Price Index on Base 2024=100 for August 2026" (September 14, 2026): https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2310058&lang=2®=48
- Mint, "RBI rate hike expected in October?" (October 1, 2026): https://www.livemint.com/market/stock-market-news/rbi-rate-hike-expected-in-october-what-it-mean-for-sensex-nifty-experts-decode-11790847271851.html