Urgent update: On the India’s Consumer Price Index

The retail inflation data for October once again underscore the fact that the update of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) cannot happen fast enough. The data show that the rate of overall inflation fell to just 0.25% , the lowest it has been since at least January 2012. On the face of it, this would be cause for celebration, but a deeper look reveals this drastic fall to be a statistical anomaly rather than an actual fall in price levels. The food and beverages category saw prices falling 3.7% in October, the largest in the history of the CPI’s current series. However, the main reason for this contraction was not so much that food prices have fallen, but because food inflation in October last year was a blistering 9.7%. This high base ensured that food inflation in October 2025 was negative