Higher prices of fuel and food pushed India's headline inflation probably to an 11-month high in October this year, making it more difficult for the government to persuade the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to slash interest rates.

As per a recently revealed a Reuters poll of economists, India's key inflation gauge - Wholesale Price Index - jumped form 7.81 per cent in September to 7.96 per cent in October.

Since January last year, headline inflation has averaged near to 9 per cent. The release of official figures is scheduled for on Wednesday this week.

As the economy is expected to post its slowest rate of growth in a decade for the current fiscal, the government wants the central bank to join its efforts to revive economic activity by measures like cutting key interest rates. But, higher inflation rate has so far discouraged the central bank from cutting rates.

The central bank estimated that a 14 per cent rise in the price of fuels in the first in fifteen months would add 110 basis points (bps) to general inflation between September and December.

The next monetary policy review will take place in December this year. But, RBI has already said that any cut in key interest rates is "highly improbable" in that meeting.