January consumer prices up 6% in new index

The country's January consumer price index rose an annual 6% under a new measure rolled out on Friday to better reflect inflation, at a time when the government is engaged in a firefight over soaring prices.

The new series takes its base year from 2010 prices, with indices the government said provide a cross-section of retail price movements across rural and urban India, the world's second most populous country.

"Present CPI numbers do not encompass all the segments of the population in the country and as such they do not reflect the true picture of the price behaviour in the country," the government said in a statement before the release.

Indian food inflation is among the highest in Asia despite good harvests, and was 11% on an annual basis in the first week of February.

Overall headline inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index remained stubbornly high at more than 8% in January despite seven rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of India since March, with more tightening expected at the bank's mid-quarter policy review next month.

Under the new series for consumer prices, the index for rural consumer prices was 107, the urban index was at 104, giving a combined index of 106. The base year of 2010 was taken at 100.