New Delhi, Dec 12 (NationPress) The year-on-year inflation rate in India, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is projected to be 0.71 percent for November this year, a slight increase from 0.25 percent in October, as per the latest figures released by the Ministry of Statistics on Friday.

Food inflation remained in the negative territory in November at (-)3.91 percent, indicating that food prices have decreased compared to the same month last year. This marks the sixth consecutive month of negative food inflation, thus alleviating the financial strain on household budgets.

However, the uptick in overall inflation for November 2025 is largely due to rising prices of vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, spices, and fuels compared to October, according to an official statement.

Retail inflation further declined in October, following a drop to an over eight-year low of 1.54 percent in September, attributed to the falling prices of food items and goods across various sectors.

The downward trend in food prices persisted in October, with food inflation plunging deeper into the negative at (-)5.02 percent, down from (-)2.28 percent in September.

Nonetheless, the general outlook for inflation appears favorable.

Last week, the RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) revised its inflation forecast for the financial year 2025-26 to 2 percent from 2.6 percent predicted in October, driven by a significant decline in food prices and the implementation of GST rate cuts.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced a 25 basis points reduction in the repo rate to 5.25 percent, down from 5.5 percent, emphasizing the need to support economic growth as inflation has decreased.

Malhotra highlighted that the surge in economic growth to 8.2 percent in the second quarter of the current financial year, along with the sharp drop in inflation to 1.7 percent, has created a rare “Goldilocks period” for the Indian economy.

“The MPC acknowledged that headline inflation has considerably decreased and is expected to remain softer than previous estimates, primarily due to exceptionally favorable food prices. Reflecting these positive conditions, the projections for average headline inflation in 2025-26 and Q1:2026-27 have been revised downwards,” he mentioned.

Moreover, Malhotra noted that core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, remained mostly stable in September-October, despite ongoing price pressures from precious metals. Excluding gold, core inflation moderated to 2.6 percent in October. He added that the decline in inflation has become increasingly widespread.

According to the RBI Governor, food supply conditions have improved due to higher kharif production, robust rabi sowing, sufficient reservoir levels, and favorable soil moisture. Except for certain metals, international commodity prices are expected to trend lower in the future.