Inflation soared under UPA Govt., now it's at six per cent: PM Modi

Taking a swing at the UPA-led Congress government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the BJP-Led NDA Government at the Centre has brought down the consumer price growth from 10 percent to six percent.

"Due to drought situation in the last two years, the government has faced challenges in terms of price rise. Under the previous government, inflation had crossed 10 percent. We did not let it rise above six percent. I will continue to strive hard to ensure that this inflation doesn't affect the food plate of poor," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing the nation on the occasion of 70th Independence Day.

Delivering his third Independence Day address, Prime Minister Modi backed the four percent inflation target, within a range of two percentage points either way, that had been agreed with outgoing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan.

"We are rising above the discussion of inflation versus growth and are working to ensure that prices do not rise above a certain level," he added.

The government formally notified the medium-term inflation target just before Rajan held his final policy meeting on August. 9.

Figures last Friday showed inflation nudging over six percent, outside the target range.

"I admit that because of two years of drought vegetable prices took a hit. Some issues cropped up. The harvest of pulses was less and that led to prices rising. This year however, the monsoon has been good so far, and I would like to congratulate our farmers, because they have shifted back to sowing pulses. They have increased the sowing of pulses," he added.

The Prime Minister was addressing the nation on the occasion of 70th Independence Day.