By Siddhi Nawar
India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation in the month of January stood at 4.31%, as per data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. A significant decline was observed across both rural and urban areas, bringing relief to consumers.
This marks a decline of 91 basis points, from December’s retail inflation of 5.22%. Inflation in both rural and urban sectors witnessed a notable decline in January 2025, particularly in food prices– a major indicator of Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Rural inflation dropped to 4.64% from 5.76% in December, with food inflation falling from 8.65% to 6.31%. Urban inflation also declined, with headline inflation down to 3.87% from 4.58% and food inflation decreasing from 7.9% to 5.53%.
The movement of Retail inflation has been on a downward trend since its peak in October 2024, at 6.21%. Here is the movement of India’s Consumer Price Index in FY25, so far:
Apart from food prices, other sectors of the economy marked substantial shifts.
Housing inflation slightly increased to 2.76%, while education and health inflation eased to 3.83% and 3.97%, respectively.
Transport & communication inflation rose marginally to 2.76%, and fuel & light inflation remained in negative territory at -1.38%.
The overall decline was driven by lower prices in vegetables, eggs, pulses, cereals, education, clothing, and healthcare. However, some essential items saw high inflation, including commodities like coconut oil (54.20%), potatoes (49.61%), and garlic (30.65%), as per the MoSPI release.
