Why in News?
India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation rose to 4.4% in June 2026, crossing the RBI’s 4% target for the first time since January 2025.
Key Highlights
- CPI: Consumer Price Index, the primary measure of retail inflation.
- Retail inflation: 4.4% (June 2026), up from 3.93% in May.
- Food inflation: 5.05%, the highest under the new CPI series.
- Major drivers:
- Rising food prices due to an uneven monsoon.
- Higher fuel prices amid the West Asia crisis.
- Supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions.
- Transport inflation rose to 4.3% (from 1.7%) because of fuel costs.
- Inflation in personal care & miscellaneous goods/services reached 16.7%, driven by higher gold and silver prices.
About Inflation Targeting
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) follows a Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) framework.
- Inflation target: 4% ± 2% (2% to 6%).
- Inflation is measured using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) compiled by the National Statistics Office (NSO).
[2022] In India which one of the following is responsible for maintaining for prices stability by controlling inflation?
[A] Department of Consumer Affairs
[B] Expenditure Management Commission
[C] Financial Stability and Development Council
[D] Reserve Bank of India