India's retail inflation rose to 5.54 per cent in September 2026 from 4.83 per cent in August as food inflation surged to 7.74 per cent, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday.
The latest reading marks the highest retail inflation rate recorded so far in 2026, with inflation rising every month since January, when it stood at 2.74 per cent. The September figure, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) with 2024 as the base year, is provisional.
Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), jumped to 7.74 per cent in September from 5.97 per cent in August, an increase of 1.77 percentage points. Headline inflation rose by 71 basis points during the same period.
Onion prices more than double; ginger, garlic inflation remains elevated
Onion prices recorded the sharpest year-on-year increase among key items, rising 108.09 per cent in September compared with 48.78 per cent in August.
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Other food items also registered steep annual price increases. Ginger inflation stood at 62.85 per cent, followed by garlic at 54.62 per cent and lemon at 36.41 per cent. While ginger inflation moderated from 73.82 per cent in August, garlic inflation accelerated from 43.60 per cent.
However, some vegetables continued to record a decline in prices compared with a year earlier. Potato prices fell 11.50 per cent year-on-year, while tomato prices declined 8.62 per cent. Prices of lady's finger and coconut fell 4.48 per cent and 3.99 per cent, respectively.
Among non-food items, silver jewellery recorded inflation of 87.80 per cent in September, down from 106.81 per cent in August.
Rural inflation rises to 6.08%, outpaces urban inflation
Rural inflation climbed to 6.08 per cent in September from 5.24 per cent in August, while urban inflation increased to 4.88 per cent from 4.31 per cent during the same period.
Food inflation also remained higher in rural areas. Rural food inflation rose to 8.06 per cent from 6.17 per cent in August, while urban food inflation increased to 7.18 per cent from 5.64 per cent.
The gap between rural and urban headline inflation widened to 1.20 percentage points in September from 0.93 percentage points in August.
Among the major CPI divisions, inflation in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services stood at 13.75 per cent. Restaurants and accommodation services recorded inflation of 9.36 per cent, while food and beverages registered 7.36 per cent.
Transport inflation stood at 5.01 per cent, followed by paan, tobacco and intoxicants at 4.80 per cent, education services at 3.94 per cent, and clothing and footwear at 3.93 per cent. Health inflation remained comparatively low at 1.40 per cent.
Tamil Nadu records highest inflation among major states
Tamil Nadu recorded the highest headline inflation among states with populations exceeding 5 million, at 6.81 per cent in September, according to the government data.
It was followed by Odisha at 6.70 per cent, Madhya Pradesh at 6.68 per cent, Telangana at 6.64 per cent and Andhra Pradesh at 6.29 per cent.
Tamil Nadu also registered the highest food inflation at 10.62 per cent. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra were among the five states with the highest food inflation rates.
Among other major states, Uttar Pradesh recorded headline inflation of 6.08 per cent, Karnataka 5.86 per cent, Rajasthan 5.71 per cent and Maharashtra 5.18 per cent.
The CPI data was compiled using prices collected from 1,407 urban markets and 1,465 villages across states and Union Territories. The ministry reported a 100 per cent response rate in both rural and urban markets during September.
The CPI inflation data for October 2026 is scheduled to be released on November 12.