India’s retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 3.16% in April 2025, marking the lowest year-on-year rate since July 2019, according to provisional government data released on Monday.The decline of 18 basis points from March’s 3.34% reading offers fresh comfort for policymakers amid a sustained disinflationary trend.
The fall was led by a sharp drop in food inflation, which stood at 1.78% in April compared to 2.69% in March—a 91 basis point decline. This is the lowest food inflation rate since October 2021.
A significant moderation was observed in the prices of vegetables, pulses, fruits, cereals, meat and fish, and personal care items.Rural inflation slowed more sharply, falling to 2.92% in April from 3.25% in March. Rural food inflation dropped to 1.85% from 2.82%. In urban areas, inflation dipped to 3.36% from 3.43%, while urban food inflation saw a more pronounced decline to 1.64% from 2.48% in March.Among key components, housing inflation was stable at 3.00% (vs 3.03% in March), while education inflation ticked up to 4.13% from 3.98%. Health inflation remained flat at 4.25%.Notably, fuel and light inflation jumped to 2.92%, from 1.42% the previous month. Transport and communication inflation rose to 3.73% from 3.36%.First Published: May 13, 2025 4:16 PM IST
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