New Delhi, Apr 20: As India’s retail inflation witnessed six-year low in the month of March, items that witnessed the steepest decline in prices were ginger, tomato, cauliflower, jeera and garlic.

According to the Ministry of Finance data, items that witnessed the steepest decline in prices were ginger (-38.11 per cent), tomato (-34.96 per cent), cauliflower (-25.99 per cent), jeera (-25.86 per cent), and garlic (-25.22 per cent).

In March 2025, the top five items with the highest year-on-year inflation were coconut oil (56.81 per cent), coconut (42.05 per cent), gold (34.09 per cent), silver (31.57 per cent), and grapes (25.55 per cent).

Prices in the health segment saw a mild rise, with inflation at 4.26 per cent in March, up from 4.12 per cent in February.

For the urban sector, housing inflation rose slightly to 3.03 per cent in March 2025 from 2.91 per cent in February.

Inflation in the transport and communication category increased to 3.30 per cent in March 2025 compared to 2.93 per cent in February.

Inflation in the fuel and light category rebounded to 1.48 per cent in March from -1.33 per cent in February, covering both rural and urban areas.

A moderate increase was noted in education-related inflation, rising to 3.98 per cent from 3.83 per cent the previous month.

Retail inflation in India, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which reflects the cost of everyday goods and services, fell to a remarkable 4.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2024-25, the lowest since 2018-19.

The year-on-year food inflation based on the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) stood at 2.69 per cent in March 2025, the lowest since November 2021. This marks a sharp decline of 106 basis points from the previous month.

Rural food inflation was 2.82 per cent and urban food inflation was 2.48 per cent

The overall moderation in food prices was led by a drop in inflation across key categories such as vegetables, eggs, pulses and products, meat and fish, cereals and products, and milk and products, according to the ministry.

A notable fall was recorded in both headline and food inflation in rural areas. Headline inflation fell from 3.79 per cent in February to 3.25 per cent in March while food inflation dropped from 4.06 per cent to 2.82 per cent.

(IANS)

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