Inflation Rise

The most significant change in the December policy meeting was the reduction of the repo rate, the interest rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks

With inflation at a record low of 0.25% and robust GDP growth, the RBI faces a close call between supporting the economy and a weakening rupee

The inflation rate in Delhi remained substantially lower than in other metro cities and the national average last year, especially in the fuel and light group, according to a government report. The report prepared by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Delhi government, however, showed that the inflation rate rose in the food & beverages and housing sectors. The report assessed the Consumer Price Index (Industrial Workers IW) between Delhi and 14 other metros. These were Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Amritsar and Lucknow. The report said that during 2024-25, CPI (IW), Kolkata, recorded the highest increase (3.6 per cent) while it was (3.4 per cent) at the All India level, followed by Mumbai (3.0 per cent), Delhi (1.8 per cent), and no change was observed in the case of Chennai. Among the selected cities assessed by the report, Delhi had the third lowest Consumer Price Index .

India's formal adoption of inflation targeting in 2016 marked a fundamental shift in the way monetary policy was conducted

RBI has kept the policy rate unchanged in the last two meeting

What the revision of a three-decade-old inflation index may mean for rural wages

The last time the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had been this benign was in June 2017, when it recorded a 1.46 per cent uptick

Climate change brings with it higher temperatures and extreme rains, which can lower yields and make the crops that are harvested more expensive

India's retail inflation hit a six-year low in June, while US consumer prices rose at their fastest pace since February, with higher goods costs hinting at tariff effects

It provides policymakers with much-needed room to counter any global shocks

The prospects of bumper rabi harvest and the outlook of an above normal monsoon would further strengthen rural consumption and is also likely to keep food inflation in check

In March, retail inflation stood at 3.34 per cent- the lowest since August 2019

The government won't hesitate to invoke the provisions of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to check speculative activities, hoarding and black marketing, a senior official said

Dabur India, maker of Hajmola candy and Real fruit juices, said that its India FMCG business is likely to decline to mid-single digits due to delayed and truncated winters

Delhiites on Wednesday exercised their right to vote while expressing concerns about key issues such as civic amenities, employment opportunities, and inflation -- matters which directly impact their daily lives. Basin (67), a resident of Kalkaji, said he was voting in the hope of improving the entire constituency. "I am here to vote against corruption and poor sanitation. The issues don't need to be highlightedjust look at the roads. When you step out of the house, you can clearly see all the sanitation problems. The entire constituency needs cleanliness. The roads are there, but they're broken and congested. Similarly, the drainage and sewage systems are open," he stated. Polling, which began at 7 am, is underway at 13,766 stations across Delhi's 70 constituencies to decide the fate of 699 candidates. It will continue until 6 pm. Damodar Kumar (50), a motorcycle garage owner and resident of Okhla, said the maintenance of public washrooms is poor and open drains also trouble the .

The report predicts that the RBI could cut the repo rate by 25 basis points in its February 2025 policy meeting, with a total reduction of at least 75 basis points over the entire easing cycle

They also support a rate cut to avoid the risk of sharp currency appreciation if India does not normalise interest rates when most other global central banks have already embarked on an easing cycle

After the substantial reduction in interest rates, triggered by the return of inflation to the bank's target this year, BoC Governor Tiff Macklem indicated last week that further cuts would be more

A survey conducted by Business Standard revealed that majority respondents believed that the RBI might revise its growth and inflation projections for the financial year

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das discusses inflation outlook and economic resilience at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit