Air passenger service prices rise 32% in June quarter; rail fares up 3.5%

In June 2026, air passenger service prices surged by a substantial 32% on an annual basis, marking the highest inflation rate among the seven major services. The provisional Service Producer Price Indices (PPI) for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2026-27 were released by the Indian government on Monday. The PPI covers seven services - Banking, Securities Transaction, Insurance, Management of Pension Funds, Railways, Air (Passenger), and Telecom, with the base year set at 2022-23.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry also provided the final estimates for inflation in Service PPI for the March quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year. According to the data, the Air (Passenger) Service Price Index inflation rose by 31.94% year-on-year. However, there is no sequential inflation data available as the price reference period for this sector is based on the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Railway passenger service prices, on the other hand, experienced a 3.50% inflation in the June quarter of the current fiscal year, identical to the rate observed in the March quarter of FY26. Meanwhile, banking service prices saw a slight deflation of 6.90% in Q1 of FY27, compared to a deflation of 3.30% in the previous fiscal quarter. The Securities Transaction Service Price Index witnessed a deflation of 1.32% in the June quarter, contrasting with an inflation of 0.55% in the March quarter.

Inflation rates in the pension funds, insurance, and telecom sectors were recorded at 5.20%, 0.98%, and 0.72% respectively in the June quarter. These figures contrast with inflation of (-)0.76%, 0.68%, and 0.99% recorded in the March quarter for these sectors. The government plans to expand the range of services included in the Service PPI data.