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New Delhi: India's
inflation moved up to 7.23 percent in April as compared to 6.89
percent in the previous month, mainly driven by a sharp increase
in the prices of food items, adding to the woes of policy makers
as the economic growth remains under pressure, government data
showed Monday.
The monthly inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) was
9.74 percent during the corresponding month of previous year.
In the monthly report, the commerce and industry ministry revised
upward the February inflation figure to 7.36 percent as compared
to 6.95 percent reported earlier.
Food inflation surged into double-digit. Food inflation rose to
10.49 percent in April as compared to 9.94 percent in the previous
month as vegetables, pulses, milk, egg, meat and fish became
costlier, pinching the pockets of common people.
Food inflation has re-entered the double-digit zone after a gap of
six months.
Expressing concern over the rise in food prices, Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee called for institutional reforms in agricultural
marketing to address the problem.
"Food inflation is a matter of concern, particularly it has
reached the double-digit," Mukherjee told reporters while reacting
on the monthly data.
"Food inflation can be tackled by creating storing facilities and
cold chain and also is required the institutional reforms in the
agricultural marketing," the finance minister said.
Prices of vegetables surged by 60.97 percent year-on-year. Potato
price more than doubled. Milk became costlier by 15.51 percent.
Prices of egg, meat and fish rose by 17.54 percent. Pulses became
costlier by 11.29 percent.
Price of manufactured products increased by 5.12 percent
year-on-year, while price of fuel and power grew by 11.03 percent.
The recent data showed that India continued to face the problem of
high inflationary pressure and low growth.
As per the data released by the Central Statistics Office last
week, India's industrial output shrank by 3.5 percent in March due
to poor show of manufacturing and mining sectors. It was is the
first contraction in the factory output since October 2011, when
it shrank by 4.7 percent.
The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP), had registered a growth of 4.1 percent in
February year-on-year.
Taking cues from the moderation in inflation, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) in its annual monetary policy for 2012-13, announced
April 17, lowered the key policy rates by 0.50 percent for the
first time in three years.
Reacting on the monthly data chairman of the Prime Minister's
Economic Advisory Council C. Rangarajan said the rise in
inflationary pressure would limit the scope of any further rate
cut by the central bank.
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