The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), established in 2016, is mandated to keep inflation within 2 percentage points on either side of its 4% target.
Reuters GraphicsGarima Kapoor, an economist at Elara Capital, said retail inflation was likely to ease to an average of 6% only by January-March.
"We expect the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to hike policy repo rate by another 40-50 bps this financial year," she said, and higher inflation could mean further rate hikes.
Annual retail inflation (INCPIY=ECI) in September was higher than the 7.3% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, and above 7% the previous month, data released by the National Statistics Office on Wednesday showed.
Food inflation, which accounts for nearly 40% of the CPI basket, rose 8.60% in September, compared to 7.62% in August.