Retail inflation in the country has surged to 5.08 per cent in June against 4.8 per cent in May, government data mentioned on Friday. Meanwhile, the Industrial production jumped to 5.9 per cent in May against 5.7 per cent expansion a year ago, the data said.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation was 4.8 per cent in May 2024 and 4.87 per cent in June 2023 (previous low).
Inflation in the food basket was 9.36 per cent in June, up from 8.69 per cent in May, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
The government has tasked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure that the CPI inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
The RBI projected the CPI inflation for 2024-25 at 4.5 per cent, with Q1 at 4.9 per cent, Q2 at 3.8 per cent, Q3 at 4.6 per cent, and Q4 at 4.5 per cent.
The central bank mainly factors in the retail inflation while deciding its bi-monthly monetary policy.
The factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) witnessed a growth of 5.7 per cent in May 2023. India’s Index of Industrial Production grew by 5.9 per cent in May 2024. The data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed that the manufacturing sector’s output slowed to 4.6 per cent in May 2024 against 6.3 per cent in the year-ago month.
In May this year, mining production rose 6.6 per cent, and power output increased 13.7 per cent. During April-May this fiscal, the IIP grew 5.4 per cent compared to 5.1 per cent in the year-ago period.
ALSO READ | Union Budget 2024: Insurers seek enhanced tax benefits for health insurance
