Food prices, which make up nearly half of the country's consumer price index (CPI) basket, have kept inflation elevated in recent months, largely driven by a sustained surge in vegetable prices
India will have to navigate geopolitical headwinds, tame domestic inflation and nudge the private sector to further loosen their purse strings as the world's fastest-growing major economy seeks more purple patches in 2025, leaving behind September quarter growth blues. Economists at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) say that high-frequency indicators for the third quarter of 2024-25 indicate the economy is recovering, driven by strong festival activity and a sustained upswing in rural demand. In what has been described as a "temporary blip" by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the country's economic growth slid to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent in the July-September period after clipping a healthy rate of 7-8 per cent. With the growth versus inflation debate leaving the finance ministry and RBI on different pages, all eyes will also be on possible interest rate cuts in February when the central bank's monetary policy panel meets for the first time under the new Governor
The Congress on Monday took a swipe at the Modi government over "rising" prices of food items, saying the bullet train announced by it has not arrived but the inflation, which is spiralling upwards faster than the speed of a bullet train, has broken the back of the common person. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the people want answers not more "jumlabaazi (rhetoric)". He shared a media report on X which claimed that the rates of daily essential goods are increasing day by day and in the last one year, the prices of flour, oil, spices and dry fruits have increased by one and a half to two times. "The bullet train announced by the Modi government has not arrived, but the inflation, which is spiralling upwards faster than the speed of a bullet train, has broken the back of the common person," Ramesh said in his post in Hindi on X. "Inflation has doubled and tripled in the last ten and a half years. Vegetables, flour, oil, spices and everyday item
Patra highlighted that digitalisation can be regarded as a long-term technology shock impacting economic growth, productivity, labour markets, older technologies, and inflation
Flagging low wages under MGNREGS, a Parliamentary panel has questioned why the remuneration under the flagship scheme was not linked to an inflation index. It has also urged the Union rural development ministry for devising a mechanism for raising wages under the scheme. Headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, in a report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, rapped the ministry and said there had been no noticeable change in its stance. It has been sending "stereotype responses" regarding revision of wages, the report said. "Rising inflation and cost of living, be it urban or rural setting, has risen manifold and is evident to all. Even at this moment, going by the notified wage rates of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), per day wage rate of around Rs 200 in many states defies any logic when the same state has much higher labour rates," the panel said in its report.
As the markets prepare to open, the mood is upbeat. At 6:34 AM, the GIFT Nifty futures are trading 28 points higher at 24,762 levels, hinting at a positive start
Outgoing RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das hoped that there would be a nationwide roll-out of Unified Lending Interface
A fall in inflation will be welcomed by households in the world's most populous country, where food takes up a large chunk of budgets
The pace of the country's economic growth moderated sharply in the second quarter ended September 2024
RBI Monetary Policy Meeting Dec 2024 Updates: Catch all the updates here
Nomura noted that high prices were concentrated in a few items, including food, rather than being broad-based, and that inflation excluding vegetables and other volatile items was still subdued
After rising 4.3 per cent last year, home prices in India - broadly referring to housing in major cities - were expected to rise 7.0 per cent this year, 6.5 per cent in 2025 and 7.5 per cent in 2026
The Q2FY25 growth in manufacturing slowed to 2.2 per cent, significantly below the 7 per cent recorded in Q1 and 14.3 per cent a year earlier
The US election shows the conventional wisdom was right all along: Controlling inflation should be the primary focus of macro policy
Wholesale price inflation rose to a 4-month high of 2.36 per cent in October as prices of food items, especially vegetables, and manufactured goods turned dearer, as per the government data released on Thursday. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation was 1.84 per cent in September 2024. It was (-) 0.26 per cent in October, last year. As per the data, inflation in food items shot up to 13.54 per cent in October, as against 11.53 per cent in September. This was led by 63.04 per cent inflation in vegetables, as against 48.73 per cent in September. Inflation in potato and onion remained high at 78.73 per cent and 39.25 per cent, respectively, in October. Fuel and power category witnessed deflation of 5.79 per cent in October, against a deflation of 4.05 per cent in September. In manufactured items, inflation was 1.50 per cent in October, as against 1 per cent in the previous month. The month of October witnessed the second consecutive month of rise in WPI inflation print. WPI
Since the end of the pandemic, India's economic growth has been driven in large part by urban consumption, however, that now seems to be changing
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 3.60 per cent in October, according to the median estimate
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das discusses inflation outlook and economic resilience at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit
Leading FMCG companies reported a decline in margins in the September quarter on account of higher input costs and food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of urban consumption. Rising prices of commodity inputs such as palm oil, coffee and cocoa were also accentuated and some FMCG firms have hinted at a price hike. HUL, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), Marico, ITC, and Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) have expressed concerns over squeezing urban consumption, which according to industry experts forms 65-68 per cent of FMCG total sales. "We think this is a short-term hit and we will recover the margins through judicious price increase and stabilising of costs," said GCPL Managing Director and CEO Sudhir Sitapati in a Q2 earning statement. GCPL, makers of Cinthol, Godrej No 1, HIT had a steady quarter given the headwinds of oil costs and tough consumer demand in India and its standalone EBITDA margin was lower, caused entirely by high inflation in palm oil. The rur
While GDP growth may have moderated in Q2FY25, inflation might not weigh so heavily on markets in Samvat 2081 say analysts. Here are some key insights on what may drive markets going forward