Retail inflation rises to 3.21% in February, higher than 2.74% in January
India’s consumer price index (CPI) or retail inflation in February 2026 stood at 3.21 per cent, compared to 2.74 per cent in January 2026, according to government data released on Thursday. Corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 3.37 per cent and 3.02 per cent, respectively, as per the statement by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation today.
According to the data, the inflation rate based on All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for the month of February 2026 over February 2025 is 3.47 per cent (provisional). Corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 3.46 per cent and 3.48 per cent, respectively.
Month over month decrease of more than 10 per cent was seen in the index of tomato, peas and cauliflower in February 2026 with respect to January 2026. The data showed that the housing inflation rate for the month of February 2026 is 2.12 per cent (provisional) and the corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are 2.43 per cent and 2.00 per cent, respectively.
Top five states (having more than 50 lakhs population as per Census 2011) with highest inflation in February 2026 are Telangana, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the data added.
Real time price data are collected from selected 1,407 urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages covering all states/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO, MoSPI on a weekly roster. During the month of February, 2026, prices were collected from 100 per cent rural and urban markets while the market-wise prices reported therein were 99.89 per cent for rural markets and 99.78 per cent for urban markets.
