By Admin 
India’s Wholesale Inflation: The beginning of the year 2026 has been a shock on the inflation front, due to which eyebrows from the Central Government to the RBI may be raised after this news. According to the data released by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the inflation rate based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) increased to 1.81 percent for the third consecutive month in January. In December 2025 it was 0.83 percent, whereas in January last year it was recorded at 2.51 percent.
Shock on inflation front
According to the Industry Ministry, the main reason behind this was the increase in prices of base metals, other manufactured products, non-food items, food items and textiles. According to the data, wholesale inflation of food items stood at 1.55 percent in January, while a decline of 0.43 percent was recorded in December. The inflation rate of vegetables was 6.78 percent in January, which was negative 3.50 percent in December.
High rise in non-food items
Wholesale inflation in manufactured products increased to 2.86 percent, which was 1.82 percent in December. A sharp jump was seen in the category of non-food items and it reached 7.58 percent, whereas in December it was 2.95 percent. However, the inflation rate in the fuel and electricity sector remained relatively controlled and was recorded at 4.01 percent in January.
Earlier, retail inflation (CPI) had also increased to 2.75 percent in January. The Reserve Bank of India considers retail inflation as the basis for determining interest rates. So far, the Central Bank has reduced the repo rate by a total of 1.25 percent in the current financial year 2025-26, due to which the repo rate has come down to 5.5 percent. This surge in wholesale inflation may impact future monetary policy and interest rate trends.
Also read: Indian IT companies have embezzled $50 billion from 2025 till now, then why did Nasscom President dismiss AI concerns?