Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government’s intent to implement additional measures aimed at tackling inflation, with the goal of alleviating the burden of rising prices for citizens during his address to the nation on the 77th Independence Day.
Modi acknowledged the global struggle with elevated inflation, particularly emphasizing that when India imports goods, it inadvertently imports inflation from other countries. He noted the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and referred to inflation as an additional challenge the world is grappling with.
The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the efforts taken by the government to manage inflation, acknowledging some degree of success in the endeavour. However, he stressed the need for continued action, stating that merely outperforming global conditions isn’t sufficient. Modi affirmed his commitment to further actions aimed at reducing the impact of rising prices on the populace.
Modi’s statement came shortly after retail inflation surged to 7.44 per cent in July, primarily due to higher costs of vegetables and tomatoes. This was the first time in the current fiscal year that retail inflation surpassed the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort level of 6 per cent. The Consumer Price Index-based inflation saw a notable increase from 4.87 per cent in June to 7.44 per cent in July.
Notably, retail inflation had stood at 6.71 per cent in July 2022, with the highest recorded level of 7.79 per cent in April 2022. The Reserve Bank of India, responsible for maintaining retail inflation within the 2 to 6 per cent range, had previously seen inflation above the upper limit for most of the 2022-23 financial year, but within the comfort zone up until June.
In the recent bi-monthly monetary policy announcement, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das cautioned about a substantial near-term rise in headline inflation. He revised the inflation forecast for the second quarter to 6.2 per cent, highlighting the evolving inflationary landscape.
