India’s retail inflation dips to 3.34% in March, lowest since Sept 2019
New Delhi: India’s retail inflation dropped to 3.34% year-on-year in March, marking the lowest level since September 2019, as per government data released on Tuesday.
The decline appears to be largely driven by continued moderation in food prices, following a similar trend in February when inflation stood at 3.61%, the lowest in seven months.
Headline inflation stayed well within the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort range of 2–6% and remained below its medium-term target of 4%.
Food inflation, which makes up nearly 50% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased further to 2.69% in March, down from 3.75% the previous month.
Among essentials, vegetable prices dropped sharply by 7.04% in March, compared to a 1.07% fall in February.
Inflation for cereals stood at 5.93%, while prices of pulses registered a contraction of 2.73%.
The inflation rate for fuel and light came in at 1.48% during the month.
Rural inflation slowed to 3.25% in March from 3.79% in February, while urban inflation fell to 2.48% from 3.32% a month earlier.
Despite external pressures, including uncertainties stemming from US tariff hikes, the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintained its inflation projection for 2025–26 at 4%, a slight downward revision from 4.2% estimated in February.
For the financial year 2025–26, the RBI expects inflation to average 3.6% in Q1, 3.9% in Q2, 3.8% in Q3, and 4.4% in Q4, with risks assessed as evenly balanced.
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