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 Inflation
5.4%
+0.3ppfrom 5.1%
As of 30 June 2026Monthly
CPI inflation, year-on-year
Headline consumer price inflation, % change, monthly
Source: MoSPI, CPI releases; illustrative seriesShare or embed this chart
What this measures
The Consumer Price Index measures the average change in prices paid by households for a fixed basket of goods and services. It is India's headline inflation number and the RBI's primary policy target, with a medium-term goal of 4%, within a 2-6% tolerance band.
Source & release schedule
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
Released monthly, typically around the 12th, for the previous month.
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