On February 7, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared that the country’s retail inflation rate is currently stable and well within the 2–6% tolerance range that is required.
“Retail inflation has declined from an average of 6.8 percent in April-December 2022 to 5.5 percent in the corresponding period of 2023… The core inflation has actually declined from 5.1 percent in April 2023 to 3.8 percent in December 2023,” in response to a question on the FY25 Interim Budget in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman stated.
For the third consecutive month, the rate in December fell below the 2–6% percent tolerance range set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It has, nevertheless, now exceeded the medium-term objective of 4 percent for 50 months running.
Sitharaman added, “Prices of essentials like atta, dal, onions and also rice have come down.”
“Around 2.37 lakh metric tonne of atta has been sold, priced at 27.50 per kg, under the Bharat Atta initiative as of January 28, 2024. This is already sold to the public and to that extent prices have cooled down,” the FM continued.
December 2023 saw a 0.9 percent month-over-month (MoM) decline in the Consumer Food Price Index, which was helped along by a 5.3 percent sequential decline in the price index for vegetables as prices continued to drop.
