Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was 2.51% in January last year, while in the previous month (December 2025), it was 0.83%. | Data"Positive rate of inflation in January 2026 is primarily due to increase in prices of manufacture of basic metals, other manufacturing, non-food articles, food articles, and textiles, etc," the Industry Ministry said in a statement. According to WPI data, inflation in food articles was 1.55% in January as against deflation of 0.43% in December. In the case of manufactured products, WPI inflation inched up to 2.86%, as against 1.82% in December. The RBI mainly tracks retail inflation for deciding on benchmark interest rates.

Source: The Hindu February 16, 2026 10:47 UTC