RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced that the Reserve Bank plans to introduce polymer (plastic) currency notes from the beginning of the next fiscal year. The move is currently at the pilot stage; the RBI will first test how polymer notes perform under Indian climatic and infrastructural conditions before a wider rollout, aiming to improve note durability and security.

The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25%. The committee observed that the recent rise in inflation was mostly on account of fuel and food prices, with little sign so far of price pressures becoming generalised across the economy, allowing it to hold rates steady while monitoring risks.

India's retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose to a 19-month high of 4.45% in July 2026, driven by costlier food, fuel and transport. While food, restaurant and accommodation services and transport became dearer, inflation in services such as healthcare, recreation, sports and culture cooled marginally during the month.

India's wholesale price inflation eased marginally to 9.78% in July 2026 as food, fuel and power prices cooled. Notably, this was the first month-on-month decline in WPI inflation under the government's new 2022-23 base year series, signalling some softening of wholesale price pressures even as the headline rate remained elevated.