New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- India's newly rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January 2026 paints a picture of inflation that is more nuanced than dramatic.

With the base year updated to 2024 from 2012, the basket now comprises 358 items, redesigned to reflect contemporary consumption patterns. The headline retail inflation figure of 2.75% is broadly in line with recent readings under the old series, even as the underlying structures of measurement have shifted.

A first look at the data shows that most items saw low inflation, only a few categories recorded sharp price increases, and rural and urban inflation rates were broadly similar across most divisions. Here's a breakdown of what the broader numbers show:

The item-level data under th...