Key highlights

• MoSPI’s CPI release gives headline inflation plus food inflation and rural/urban splits. Ministry of Stats & Prog Implementation
• October 2025 CPI inflation (released 12 Nov 2025) was 1.48% (YoY); food inflation was -3.91% (YoY). Ministry of Stats & Prog Implementation
• Reporting inflation well in 2026 means separating what moved from why it might have moved.

Inflation stories are easy to write badly because the number looks definitive. It isn’t. The CPI is a careful summary of price movement, not a full autobiography of household stress.

MoSPI’s CPI press release for October 2025 (issued 12 November 2025) placed All-India CPI inflation at 1.48% (year-on-year). Ministry of Stats & Prog Implementation The same release showed food inflation at -3.91% (YoY)—a reminder that “kitchen economics” can cool even when people still feel squeezed elsewhere. Ministry of Stats & Prog Implementation The rural/urban split also matters: Rural inflation 1.24%, Urban inflation 1.51%. Ministry of Stats & Prog Implementation

So how do you cover CPI in Jan 2026 without leaning into narrative theatre?

A neutral framework is this:

• Lead with what the data explicitly states (headline, food, rural/urban).
• Identify the likely reader confusion (e.g., “why negative food inflation doesn’t mean your bill halved”).
• Avoid causal claims unless the release supports them (CPI releases are not policy verdicts).
• Explain methodology briefly so readers know it’s measured, not guessed: MoSPI reports substantial field response rates in the same release—88.2% rural and 92.7% urban for the month’s price data. Ministry of Stats & Prog Implementation

Most importantly: inflation headlines should not try to “win” the debate. They should reduce error. In 2026, credibility will come from writing CPI like an analyst—tight, cautious, and specific—without sounding like a lecture.