MoSPI Introduces New 2024 Base; India Records 2.75% Headline Inflation for January 2026
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Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) | National Statistical Office (NSO) | Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
The first press release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the new Base 2024=100 mentions a significant structural update to India’s inflation measurement framework. Transitioning from the 2012 base, the new series adopts the COICOP 2018 framework, expanding the basket to 358 items to reflect modern consumption patterns, including online streaming and rural housing.
For January 2026, the provisional All India CPI inflation stands at 2.75%, with Rural and Urban inflation closely aligned at 2.73% and 2.77% respectively.
Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) inflation is notably lower at 2.13%, as a sharp decline in prices for staples like garlic (-53.05%) and onions (-29.27%) offset high inflation in items like tomatoes (64.80%) and silver jewellery (159.67%).
This revision sees a marked reduction in the weight of Food & Beverages (from 45.86% to 36.75%) while significantly increasing the weight of Housing to 17.67%.
Top 5 Items with Low Inflation: Garlic (-53.05%), Onion (-29.27%), Potato (-28.98%), Arhar/Tur (-24.90%), Peas (-15.56%)
Top 5 Items with High Inflation: Silver Jewellery (159.67%), Tomato (64.80%), Coconut Copra (47.18%), Gold/Diamond/Platinum Jewellery (46.77%), Coconut Oil (40.44%).
State-Level Inflation: Telangana recorded the highest inflation (4.92%), followed by Kerala (3.67%), Tamil Nadu (3.36%), Rajasthan (3.17%), and Karnataka (2.99%)
Key Pillars of the CPI 2024 Series Revision
Modernized Item Basket: Incorporating 358 items, including digital services like OTT subscriptions and handheld electronics, and administrative data such as rail fares, fuel prices, and postal charges — while removing obsolete items like VCRs and cassette players.
Re-weighted Expenditure Categories: A strategic shift in weights where Food & Beverages declined to 36.75% and Housing spiked to 17.67%, reflecting higher discretionary and lifestyle spending.
Adoption of International Standards: Implementing the COICOP 2018 framework, which increases the number of divisions from 6 to 12 for more granular policy analysis.
Digital Data Collection: Transitioning to Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) using handheld devices for real-time price data from 1,465 rural and 1,395 urban markets.
Modern Data Sources: Includes e-commerce prices, online services (e.g., OTT subscriptions), and administrative data for rail fares, fuel prices, and postal charges
State-Level Divergence: Identifying significant regional variations, with Telangana recording the highest inflation at 4.92% compared to the national average of 2.75%.
What is the “COICOP 2018” Framework? The Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018 is a functional classification developed by the United Nations Statistics Division. In the new CPI series, its adoption has allowed India to expand from 6 broad groups to 12 specific divisions, such as “Information and Communication” and “Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods”. This ensures that inflation data is more granular and comparable with international best practices, allowing policymakers to identify price pressures in specific modern service sectors that were previously grouped under broader categories.
Policy Relevance
The launch of the 2024 series represents a transition from outdated consumption proxies to “High-Fidelity” economic monitoring, providing the RBI with a more accurate reflection of the modern Indian household’s cost of living.
Strategic Impact:
Calibration of Monetary Policy: The shift in weights, especially the lower food weight (36.75%), reduces the volatility of the headline CPI, potentially allowing the RBI to focus more on core inflation stability.
Reflecting Urbanization and Digitalization: The inclusion of Rural Housing (2.39% inflation) and Online Media Services ensures that policy interventions for the “Digital Economy” are grounded in actual price movements.
Strategic Buffer Management: Despite the 2.75% headline rate, extreme volatility in specific items like Silver (159.67%) and Tomatoes (64.80%) highlights the continued need for targeted supply-side management.
Institutionalizing Frequent Updates: The plan to revise the base every 3–5 years ensures that India’s inflation measures remain resilient to rapid structural shifts in the economy.
Follow the full report here: MoSPI: First Press Release of CPI on Base 2024=100