Inflation blues

Onus of reviving growth will solely be on govt

The latest inflation data has significantly increased the complexity of economic policymaking in India. Inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), increased sharply to 7.35 per cent in December, breaching the upper end of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) target band of 2-6 per cent. The food inflation rate was at 14.12 per cent, compared with 10.01 per cent in the previous month, largely on account of higher prices of vegetables and pulses. Retail inflation has breached the target at a time when growth has slowed sharply. The Indian economy is expected to grow at just 7.5 per