The effort, being spearheaded by the statistics ministry, seeks to tackle high volatility in inflation, particularly food inflation, a senior official told ET, adding that information is shared through this mechanism on a monthly basis.
“We identify subgroups with high inflation every month and sensitise ministries and states to check the reason behind it — whether it’s logistics, storage or any other issue,” the official cited earlier said.
India’s retail inflation had eased to a four-month low of 5.2% in December 2024, according to government data released last month, but it was also the fourth consecutive month of being above 5%.
Among the states and Union Territories, Chhattisgarh recorded the highest inflation at 7.6%, followed by Bihar at 7.4% and Odisha at 7%.
This initiative, led by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), was introduced in 2024.The inputs have been sent to ministries and departments such as consumer affairs, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, food processing and agricultural research, the official said.”Even MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises), and biotech have been sent inputs, as some technology solutions might be required in some cases,” the person said.
Food inflation declined to a four-month low of 8.4% in December. Vegetables recorded the highest inflation at 26.6%, followed by oils and fats at 14.6%, and fruits at 8.5%. The central bank expects inflation to average 4.8% in 2024-25 and 4.2% in 2025-26.
Content Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com