Institutional Flows & Policy
CPI Inflation
The Consumer Price Index — India's headline inflation measure, tracking the price change of a representative basket of goods and services.
CPI inflation measures how much the average consumer's cost of living rose year-over-year, based on a fixed basket that includes food, fuel, housing, and other everyday categories. It's the RBI's primary inflation target and the single most-watched monthly economic data release in India, since it directly informs the MPC's rate decisions.
Food and fuel prices are typically the most volatile components; 'core CPI' (inflation excluding food and fuel) is watched separately as a cleaner read on underlying, stickier price pressure.