At 4.85%, India's retail inflation eases to five-month low in March

India witnessed a significant decline in retail inflation in March, dropping to 4.85 per cent, primarily driven by lower food prices, as revealed by data from the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.

This marks a departure from February's 5.09 per cent and March 2023's 5.66 per cent rates. Notably, the lowest CPI-based inflation was recorded at 4.87 per cent in October 2023.

Furthermore, food prices, as measured by the CPI Food index, cooled down to 8.52 per cent last month compared to 8.66 per cent in February. Additionally, fuel prices witnessed a year-on-year decrease of 3.2 per cent, a significant contrast to February's 0.77 per cent fall.

The government has set a target for the Reserve Bank to maintain inflation at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. The central bank forecasts retail inflation at 4.5 per cent for the current fiscal year, assuming a normal monsoon.

Industrial production grows 5.7%

On the industrial front, India's production output increased by 5.7 per cent in February 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. This growth, driven primarily by the mining sector, marks a four-month high, compared to February 2023's 6 per cent growth.

The previous peak in industrial production was recorded at 11.9 per cent in October 2023, which then slowed to 2.5 per cent in November, 4.2 per cent in December, and 4.1 per cent in January 2024. Over the April-February period of 2023-24, industrial production grew by 5.9 per cent, up from 5.6 per cent in the previous year.