The govt is exploring a reduction in food's weight in the Consumer Price Index to reflect changing consumption patterns and manage inflation, as food prices remain volatile and seasonally driven
Annual retail inflation as measured by the CPI likely rose a second straight month to 5.81% in October, the highest since August 2023, says Reuters poll
The potential increase in Dearness Allowance is expected to bring a financial boost to government employees
Retail inflation for industrial workers slipped to 3.67 per cent in June from 3.86 per cent in the previous month this year mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. "Year-on-year inflation for the month of June 2024 moderated to 3.67 per cent as compared to 5.57 per cent in June 2023," a Labour Ministry statement said. The All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers CPI-IW for June 2024 was at 141.4 points against 139.9 points in May 2024. Food and Beverages Group under the CPI-IW was at 148.7 points in June 2024 against 145.2 points in May this year. The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, has been compiling Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers every month on the basis of retail prices collected from 317 markets spread over 88 industrially important centres in the country.
Prices of tomatoes, onions, and potatoes - staples in every Indian kitchen - surged by double digits last month as extreme heat, heavy floods in northern states disrupted agricultural production
IIP growth moderated during April as manufacturing growth decelerated to 3.9 per cent from 5.76 per cent in March
Economic indices such as the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), Wholesale Price Index (WPI), and National Income are benchmarked to FY12
Core inflation has also trended downwards at 3.2 per cent, which is the lowest in the 2012 base CPI series
But remains well above RBI's 4 per cent target
The government has tasked the Reserve Bank to ensure inflation remains at 4%, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side
New 10-year bond becomes the second most traded
Amid criticism over low rate of hike in MGNREGS wages, sources on Friday said the increase was calculated on the basis of Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour, which rose by around 7.7 per cent since last year. The Rural Development Ministry had notified new wage rates under the MGNREGS on Wednesday, with hikes ranging between four and 10 per cent for different states, and an overall national average of around seven per cent. Sources from the ministry said the central government has indexed the wage rate under the MGNREGS with the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL) to compensate the workers against inflation. Relevant data on CPI-AL was taken from the Labour Bureau, Shimla and the revisions were done on the basis of changes in CPI-AL and as per section 6(1) Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Act 2005. The wages were revised on the basis of a formula where the proposed wage rate is equal to last year's wage rate, multiplied by the quotient of CPI-AL for December 2023 ..
The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased in January to 0.2 per cent from 0.27 per cent in the preceding month. The WPI inflation was in the negative zone from April to October and had turned positive in November at 0.26 per cent. "The annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number is 0.20 per cent (provisional) for the month of February, 2024 (over February, 2023)," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Food inflation moved up marginally to 6.95 per cent in February from 6.85 per cent in January, data showed. Inflation in vegetables was 19.78 per cent, up from 19.71 in January. The WPI inflation in pulses was at 18.48 per cent in February compared to 16.06 in January.
Food and beverage recorded an inflation of 8.66 per cent vs 8.3 per cent in January 2024
That was the smallest year-on-year increase since February 2021 and followed a 2.6% advance in December
Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to 4.59 per cent in January compared to 4.91 per cent in December 2023 mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. Food inflation stood at 7.66 per cent in January 2024 against 8.18 per cent in December 2023. Food inflation was 5.69 per cent in January 2023 a year ago, a labour ministry statement said. Retail inflation based on the consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) was 6.16 per cent in January 2023. The All-India CPI-IW for January 2024 increased by 0.1 point to 138.9 points from 138.8 points in December 2023. The maximum upward pressure in the current index came from the Housing group contributing 0.48 percentage points to the total change. At the item level, House rent, Ladies Suiting, Casual wear, Saree Cotton, Woolen Sweater/Pull-over, Plastic/PVC Shoes, Tailoring Charges/Embroidery, Chewing Tobacco, Foreign/Refined Liquor, Pan Masala, etc. are responsible for the rise in the index. However, it stated that
The monthly per capita expenditure data points to shifts in consumption, but it should not be used for reconfiguring the Consumer Price Index
The findings could lead to a decrease in the weighting of food in the CPI, which is used by the central bank to frame monetary policy
The growth rate in the IIP slightly increased to 3.8 per cent in December from 2.4 per cent in November on the back of improvement in the performance of the manufacturing sector (3.9 per cent)
Citigroup economists said in a research note last week that they expect mild reflation in 2024, and forecast annual CPI inflation at 1.2 per cent year-on-year