Former RBI dy governor says pricing power of 'Big 5' driving core inflation

Viral Acharya says the Big5--Reliance, Tata, Aditya Birla, Adani and Bharti--are growing less at the expense of the small fries than at that of the next five big firms

A sharp rise in industrial concentration led by five major private sector firms has allowed these companies to charge much higher product prices than competitors, in turn possibly leading to persistent core inflation, former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said on Monday.

“The Big 5 are able to charge product prices that are substantially higher than other competitors in the market. In contrast this is not true, on an average, of the top 5 (in various sectors). The implication is basically that the top 5, which are not (always) the Big 5, are not actually charging mark-ups