Lok Sabha Question No. 876 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-12
Subject: Rise in Inflation
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Badruddin Ajmal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 876

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2022

## RISE IN INFLATION

876. SHRI M. BADRUDDIN AJMAL :

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the fact that India's retail inflation rate is rising which is affecting the country's economy and due to which the common man is suffering from difficulties and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (b) the reasons ascertained by the Government for the rise in the inflation rate;
- (c) the  inflation  rate  in  the  country  during  each  of  the  last  five  years  and  the current year;
- (d) the measures taken and/or proposed to be taken by the Government to lower the inflation rate; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  any  solid  plan  to  give  major  relief  to  the common man in inflation matter and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a)  to  (c):  Details  of  the  retail  inflation  rate  based  on  Consumer  Price  IndexCombined (CPI-C) for the last five years and the current year are given below

## Retail Inflation based on CPI-C (Base 2012) (Y-o-Y) (%)

| Year/Month            | Retail Inflation Rate (%)   |
|-----------------------|-----------------------------|
| 2017-18               | 3.59                        |
| 2018-19               | 3.41                        |
| 2019-20               | 4.77                        |
| 2020-21               | 6.16                        |
| 2021-22               | 5.51                        |
| 2022-23               |                             |
| April                 | 7.79                        |
| May                   | 7.04                        |
| June                  | 7.01                        |
| July                  | 6.71                        |
| August                | 7.00                        |
| September             | 7.41                        |
| October (Provisional) | 6.77                        |

Source: NSO, MoSPI

Soaring commodity prices at the  international  level  and  pandemic-induced  supplydemand imbalances have caused a rise in the inflation rate worldwide, including in India.  The  Russia-Ukraine  conflict  has  exacerbated  the  inflationary  pressures  in crude oil, gas, metals and edible oils (sunflower). Further, the onset of heat waves and uneven rainfall in the later part of the monsoon season has led to crop damage and a rise in vegetable prices.  Recently, inflation rate has come down to 6.77 per cent in October 2022.

(d)  &  (e):  The  price  situation  of  major  essential  commodities  is  monitored  by  the Government  on  a  regular  basis  and  corrective  action  is  taken  from  time  to  time. Several  supply-side  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to  address inflation and to ensure that the poor do not have to bear the extra financial burden. These include inter alia , reduction in excise duty by Rs. 8 per litre on petrol and Rs. 6 per litre on diesel on May 21, 2022, prohibition of export of wheat products under HS Code 1101, imposition of export duty on rice, reduction in import duties and cess on pulses, rationalization of  tariffs  and  imposition  of  stock  limits  on  edible  oils  and  oil seeds, maintenance of buffer stock for onion and pulses, the inclusion of soya meal as an essential commodity in the schedule of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and imposition of a stock limit on soya meal.

In  addition,  measures  especially  directed  towards  the  common  man  include  the Targeted  Public  Distribution  System,  under  the  National  Food  Security  Act,  2013 (NFSA)  which  is  the  largest  public  food-security  program  in  the  world  covering around  80  crore  people in the country.  The  food security response  of the Government  through Pradhan Mantri Garib  Kalyan  Anna  Yojana  (PMGKAY) combined with the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme provides support to the poor.