Page 18 - Policy Economic Report - March 2026

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

Inflation in India

In a significant methodological reform in the measurement of retail inflation, the base year has been
revised from 2012 to 2024 (Base: 2024=100).

The new CPI 2024 series is built using the latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES)
2023–24, along with inputs from the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) and Annual Survey of
Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE). This ensures that the index reflects current consumption
behavior, emerging spending patterns, and structural changes in the economy. The revision enhances
relevance, improves statistical accuracy, strengthens international comparability, and aligns India’s
inflation framework with global best practices.

a. Year-on-year inflation rate based on All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) with base year 2024 for
the month of February, 2026 over February, 2025 is 3.21%(Provisional). Corresponding inflation
rates for rural and urban are 3.37% and 3.02%, respectively.

b. Food Inflation: - Year-on-year inflation rate based on All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI)
for the month of February, 2026 over February, 2025 is 3.47% (Provisional). Corresponding
inflation rates for rural and urban are 3.46% and 3.48%, respectively.

Source - PIB

c. Housing Inflation: - Year-on-year Housing inflation rate for the month of February, 2026 is
2.12% (Provisional) and the corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 2.43% and
2.00%, respectively.

d. At National level, division wise inflation for the month of February, 2026 in the Combined sector
may be seen from the graph below: -

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