Economy, Banking and Finance · 15 September 2026

India's CPI Retail Inflation Climbs to 4.82% in August 2026 as Food Prices Accelerate

Exam-focused facts from the 15 September 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

  • India's Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation rose to 4.82% in August 2026 from 4.45% in July 2026, while food inflation increased to 5.95% from 5.52%, as per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
  • Silver jewellery recorded the highest item-level inflation at 107.11% in August 2026, though lower than 109.89% in July 2026.
  • Ginger inflation stood at 73.82% and onion inflation rose to 48.27% from 22.54% in July 2026, while garlic recorded 43.60% and gold/diamond/platinum jewellery recorded 35.53% inflation.
  • Tomato recorded the sharpest price decline with negative inflation of -31.09% in August 2026 against -4.60% in July 2026, while potato (-13.14%), motor car and jeep (-6.72%), lady's finger (-5.41%), and parwal/patal and kundru (-3.60%) also remained below year-ago levels.
  • Transport services for goods recorded the highest category-level inflation at 14.64% in August 2026, followed by food and beverage serving services at 8.41%, while purchase of vehicles saw the lowest at -4.38% and recreational durables at -1.25%.
  • Rural inflation rose to 5.23% in August 2026 from 4.84% in July 2026, while urban inflation increased to 4.31% from 3.96%.
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected CPI inflation for 2026-27 at 5%, with retail inflation moving from a low near 2.7% in January 2026 to 4.82% in August 2026 against the RBI's 4% target.

View this story in the full daily briefing

Earlier coverage selected by topic similarity to help connect developments over time.

July Retail Inflation Rises to 4.45% on Food Prices

India's retail inflation rose to 4.45% in July 2026 from 4.38% in June, according to government data. Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), increased to 5.52% in July from 5.32% in June.