Labour Bureau Releases All-India CPI and Inflation Data for Agricultural and Rural Labour.

In September 2025, the Labour Bureau under the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) released the All-India Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Agricultural Labour (AL) and Rural Labour (RL) for August 2025, with the base year 2019=100. The data was collected from 787 sample villages across 34 States and Union Territories (UTs).

      - The CPI for Agricultural Labour (AL) rose by 0.76%, increasing from 135.32 in July 2025 to 136.34 in August 2025. For Rural Labour (RL), it increased by 0.69%, rising from 135.66 to 136.60, reflecting moderate month-on-month price growth.

      - The Food Index for AL increased to 137.07 in August 2025, up 1.39 points from July. For RL, it rose to 137.38, an increase of 1.29 points, showing a slight rise in food prices during the month.

Main Point :-   (i) The year-on-year inflation rate remained low, at 1.07% for AL and 1.26% for RL in August 2025, indicating limited overall price pressure in rural and agricultural segments.

      (ii) The food inflation recorded negative growth, standing at -0.55% for AL and -0.28% for RL, showing a marginal decline in food prices compared to the same month in the previous year.