Retail inflation rises to 6.09% in October 2026, food inflation at 8.94%: MoSPI
Retail inflation rose to 6.09% in October 2026 from 5.54% in September, and food inflation to 8.94%, according to provisional CPI data from the statistics ministry.
Key points
- The statistics ministry said retail inflation was 6.09% in October 2026, up from 5.54% in September, on provisional data.
- Food inflation rose to 8.94% from 7.74%, with onion prices up 116.22% and garlic up 60.74% from a year earlier, per the ministry.
- Inflation has risen every month since January 2026; the November figure is due on 14 December 2026.
Photo: Mukulfaiz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped). Representational image.
India's retail inflation rose to 6.09% in October 2026 from 5.54% in September, according to provisional Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on 12 November 2026. Food inflation climbed to 8.94% from 7.74%. The index uses 2024 as its base year.
What Happened
The year-on-year inflation rate for October was 6.63% in rural areas and 5.41% in urban areas, the ministry said. The final September figures were 6.08% for rural and 4.88% for urban areas.
Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index, was 9.09% in rural areas and 8.68% in urban areas.
Onion led the price rise, with inflation of 116.22% in October, followed by garlic at 60.74%, silver jewellery at 52.39%, ginger at 48.32% and lemon at 47.30%. Prices fell from a year earlier for potato (minus 14.24%), cauliflower (minus 10.57%), coconut (minus 5.60%), brinjal (minus 3.34%) and cabbage (minus 1.92%).
Among broad spending categories, restaurants and accommodation services rose 10.06%, and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services 10.14%. Housing, water, electricity and gas rose 2.90%, transport 5.84% and health 2.05%.
Among states, Tamil Nadu (7.29%), Telangana (7.26%) and Andhra Pradesh (7.25%) recorded some of the highest combined inflation rates, while the NCT of Delhi recorded 3.80%.
The ministry's monthly series shows inflation rising every month this year, from 2.74% in January 2026.
What It Means
Inflation measures how fast prices rise. A rate of 6.09% means the basket of goods and services in the index cost 6.09% more in October 2026 than in October 2025. Food, which carries the largest weight in the index, rose faster than the overall basket, so household kitchen budgets felt the sharpest increase.
Savers can compare the interest earned on deposits and other savings with this figure: a return below the inflation rate buys less over time than it did when it was saved.
The October figures are provisional and may be revised. The ministry said CPI data for November 2026 will be released on 14 December 2026. State-wise and item-wise indices are available on MoSPI's eSankhyiki portal at https://esankhyiki.mospi.gov.in/.
Source: PIB press release
Sources & Citations
- PIB press release — Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation