Detailed Analysis
India's Retail Inflation Rises to 3.4 Percent in March 2026
India's retail inflation edged higher to 3.4 percent in March 2026 from 3.2 percent in February as food prices accelerated during the month, according to data released on April 13. The March print remains below the 4 percent mark despite the sequential uptick.
| Comparison of Retail Inflation Rates | February 2026 | March 2026 | | --- | --- | --- | | India's Retail Inflation Rate | 3.2% | 3.4% | | Food Inflation Rate | 3.47% | 3.87% | | Rural Food Inflation Rate | - | 3.96% | | Urban Food Inflation Rate | - | 3.71% |
Food inflation rose to 3.87 percent in March from 3.47 percent in February, suggesting stronger price pressures in household essentials. Rural food inflation stood at 3.96 percent, while urban food inflation came in at 3.71 percent. The combined CPI index rose to 104.84 in March from 104.57 in February and 101.39 in March 2025.
At the headline level, rural inflation continued to outpace urban inflation. CPI inflation in rural areas was recorded at 3.63 percent in March, compared with 3.11 percent in urban centres. Among major expenditure groups, personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recorded the sharpest rise at 18.65 percent. Paan, tobacco and intoxicants registered inflation of 4.23 percent, while food and beverages stood at 3.71 percent.
Clothing and footwear inflation was 2.75 percent, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 1.97 percent. Transport inflation remained flat at 0 percent, indicating limited fuel and mobility-related pressure during the month despite the West Asia crisis as government kept pump prices unchanged.
Within food items, some categories continued to show steep deflation. Onion prices were down 27.76 percent year-on-year, potato prices fell 18.98 percent, garlic declined 10.18 percent, arhar/tur slipped 9.56 percent, and peas/chickpeas were lower by 7.87 percent.
On the other hand, some items registered sharp increases. Silver jewellery inflation stood at 148.61 percent, gold and diamond jewellery at 45.92 percent, coconut copra at 45.52 percent, tomato at 35.99 percent and cauliflower at 34.11 percent.
Among states, Telangana reported the highest inflation at 5.83 percent in March, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 4.05 percent, Karnataka at 3.96 percent, Tamil Nadu at 3.77 percent and Rajasthan at 3.64 percent.
Prices may start to firm up for broader non-food segments in the coming months as the effect of West Asia crisis ripples through shipping rates and insurance costs.
