Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while addressing the CII Global Economic Policy Forum said that inflation continues to be a major challenge for countries globally , adding that the problem cannot be tackled in isolation.
“Inflation major challenge globally, no country can tackle it in isolation,” said Nirmala Sitharaman.
Speaking at a CII event, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says, “…Globally, govt and industry together need to work to restore calm. War should be avoided. The global priority in this decade should be to restore normalcy. Disruption should be avoided. They are the main cause of supply chain disruption. Inflation globally is a big challenge. The primary cause is disruption. It is incumbent upon all of us – industry, govt, policymakers, citizens and citizens’ forums to try to restore normalcy….”
India’s inflation woes:
India retail inflation likely fell to 5.53% in November after breaching the RBI’s 6% upper tolerance band as the arrival of fresh produce to markets moderated soaring vegetable prices, a Reuters poll of economists found.
The Reserve Bank of India held interest rates steady last week during rate setting panel’s meet, citing price pressures, despite news of a surprise sharp slowdown in economic growth last quarter.
Inflation unexpectedly rose to a 14-month high of 6.21% in October, driven by the fastest vegetable price rises in nearly four years. An additional import duty imposed on edible oils in September has also increased price pressures significantly.
But inflation as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI) likely slipped to 5.53% last month, according to the median estimate in a Dec. 4-9 Reuters survey of 56 economists.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy and is seen as a better gauge of domestic demand, was forecast to be steady at 3.70% in November, according to the median estimate from a smaller sample of 29 economists surveyed by Reuters.
Last week, the RBI downgraded its growth forecast for this fiscal year to 6.6% from 7.2%, while increasing its inflation estimates to 4.8% from 4.5% for the same period, highlighting concerns over food inflation.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation was expected to have been 2.20% in November, down from 2.36% in October, the survey showed.
