Consumer Price Index Explained

The Consumer Price Index has been revised using the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24 to reflect updated consumption patterns and price structures. The January 2026 year-on-year inflation rate stood at 2.75% on a provisional basis.

Consumer Price Index (CPI):

Dimension	Key Details
Purpose	Tracks changes over time in general retail prices of a basket of goods and services consumed by households
Base Updation	Revised using Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24
Compilation Authority	Compiled monthly by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for rural, urban and combined sectors
Index Formula	Uses Laspeyre’s Index Formula based on base year price, base year weights and current month price
Inflation Rate	Year-on-year inflation for January 2026 over January 2025 is 2.75% on provisional basis
Rural–Urban Inflation	Rural inflation 2.73% and urban inflation 2.77% for January 2026
New Items Added	Includes OTT subscriptions, rural house rent, value-added dairy products, pen drives, babysitting services and fitness equipment
Obsolete Items Removed	Includes VCR or DVD players and tape recorders