APRIL 12, 2023
India’s retail inflation moderated further to 5.66 percent in March from 6.44 percent in the previous month, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed on Wednesday.
In January 2023, India’s headline inflation based on consumer price index (CPI) had jumped to a three-month-high of 6.52 percent from 5.7 percent in December 2022.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been mandated to keep headline inflation at 4 percent with a margin of 2 percent on either side.
Rural inflation in March stood at 5.51 percent, while urban inflation came higher at 5.89 percent, as per MoSPI data. The Consumer Food Price Index has seen a significant fall to 4.79 percent from 5.95 percent in February.
To curb stubborn inflation, the central bank has hiked the repo rate by 250 basis points in the last 11 months. Though it hit a pause button on rate hike cycle in the last monetary policy announced on April 6.
The RBI has projected the CPI inflation at 5.2 percent for FY2023-24, with 5.1 percent in Q1, 5.4 percent in Q2, 5.4 percent in Q3, and 5.2 percent in Q4, and risks evenly balanced.
Courtesy/Source: Times Now / PTI
