New Delhi, April 13: Retail inflation inched up marginally to 3.4 per cent in March compared to 3.21 per cent in the preceding month, mainly due to uptick in certain food items, amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, according to government data released on Monday.
The food inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), was estimated at 3.87 per cent in March as against 3.47 per cent in February.
The retail inflation released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) is based on a new series with a base year 2024.
The March CPI remains below the Reserve Bank’s median target of 4 per cent.
High inflation was noticed during March in gold and silver jewellery, coconut (copra), tomato, and cauliflower.
On the other hand, inflation was in negative in onion, potato, garlic, arhar dal, and chickepeas, according to the NSO data.
The CPI was at 1.65 per cent in ‘electricity, gas and other fuels’ segment during March as against 1.52 in the preceding month.
Inflation rates for rural and urban segments are 3.63 per cent and 3.11 per cent, respectively.
Housing inflation rate for March 2026 was 2.11 per cent.
Highest inflation was in Telangana at 5.83 per cent and the lowest in Mizoram at 0.66 per cent.
Commenting on CPI data, ASSOCHAM President Nirmal K Minda said the government’s approach to manage prices by keeping petrol and diesel rates unchanged, despite a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, is highly commendable.
The RBI has also supported economic activity by maintaining a stable repo rate, he added.
ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said the CPI inflation rose slightly to 3.4 per cent in March over February, indicating a mild initial impact of the West Asian crisis on the headline number.
“The sequential uptick in year-on-year inflation was driven by food and electricity, gas and other fuels groups, with the latter reflecting the impact of the West Asia crisis across LPG and alternate fuels,” she said.
NSO collects real-time price data from selected 1,407 urban markets (including online markets) and 1,465 villages covering all states/UTs. (PTI)
