Headline inflation should continue to be the target, says BS poll

Economists back headline CPI as India's inflation target, stressing food's heavy weight in consumption and urging RBI to retain the 4% benchmark with the current tolerance band

The retail-inflation rate should stay as the monetary-policy benchmark, according to all the participants in a Business Standard poll of 10 economists, as India continues to be a middle-income country and the share of food will be substantial even in the new basket of consumer price inflation (CPI). 

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) floated a discussion paper ahead of the second review of the inflation-targeting framework (FIT), due by the end of March 2026. 

The economic survey for FY24 suggested a reexamination of the inflation targeting framework  and said the framework