How India's monsoon shaped this year's food inflation
A patchy June and a heavy August moved vegetable prices more than any policy decision did. We trace the rain, mandi by mandi.
Meera Kulkarni
Prices & Inflation
CPI Core Inflation
3.6%
+0.1ppfrom 3.5%
As of 30 June 2026Monthly
Core inflation has stayed unusually calm
CPI core (ex food & fuel), year-on-year % change, monthly
Source: MoSPI, CPI releases; illustrative seriesShare or embed this chart
What this measures
Core inflation strips food and fuel out of the CPI basket, leaving a steadier read on underlying price pressure. The RBI watches this closely because food and fuel swings are often temporary, while core moves tend to reflect genuine demand.
Source & release schedule
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
Derived monthly from the same CPI release, around the 12th.
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