Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Fleeting relief: On slide in retail inflation

Fleeting relief: On slide in retail inflation

Food prices still bite even as fresh pressures could weigh on inflation

For the first time in five months, India’s retail inflation slid below the 5% mark in March, to 4.85%. While it constituted only a marginal (मामूली) easing from the 5.1% recorded in February, this was the lowest pace of price rise recorded since May 2023. The average inflation of 5% clocked in the final quarter of 2023-24 is not just in line with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projections but also the slowest in three years. For the full year gone by, consumer price rise averaged 5.4%, as the RBI had forecast — a four-year low. Core inflation, excluding energy and food prices, has been under the 4% mark for four straight months. QuantEco Research estimates (अनुमान लगाना) that overall fuel inflation in India hit a four-year low of -2.7% in March, which was the seventh straight month of disinflation in the segment. No doubt, the ₹2 per litre cuts in petrol and diesel prices and the ₹100 drop in cylinder prices have helped, though the full impact (प्रभाव) of these pre-poll steps will be seen this month. Amid these pleasant (सुखद) portents, two critical problems persist (बना रहना) — food bills remain problematically high, even as overall inflation is rising for rural consumers, already hit by a weak monsoon.

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Food Price Index, has averaged an alarming 8% through 2023-24, and 8.5% in the January to March quarter. And while some government interventions have helped check a few items’ prices and hopes of a normal monsoon this year could lift some pressure points, perhaps from July onwards, the ongoing heat waves across large parts of the country remain a threat to perishable (नष्ट होने वाला) supplies. Moreover, some key items are seeing deeply entrenched (आरोपित, स्थापित) inflation trends — double-digit inflation has now been seen for five months in vegetables, 10 months in pulses and a whopping 22 months in spices. Cereals inflation picked up pace in March, breaking a seven-month moderating streak, while eggs, meat and fish are also seeing spikes. While the RBI expects inflation to cool to 4.5% this year, it is projected at 4.9% for the first quarter. A durable descent to its 4% target that has now been elusive (मायावी) for 54 months, remains tricky. For urban consumers, inflation eased tantalisingly close to the target in March at 4.14%, but it rose in rural India to 5.45% from 5.34% in January and February. While a prolonged phase of high prices is already hurting consumption, the resurgence (पुनरुत्थान) in crude oil prices to a seven-month high of $90 a barrel this month, faltering (लड़खड़ाना) hopes of interest rate cuts in the United States and the European Union, and strife-fuelled shipping cost spikes, pose fresh worries on the inflation front in the months to come.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Marginal (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मामूली
English Meaning - Something that is small, minimal, or barely sufficient, often on the edge or periphery.

2.Estimate (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुमान लगाना
English Meaning - Rough calculation or assessment of the value, number.

3.Impact (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रभाव
English Meaning - Powerful effect or influence that something has on a person.

4.Pleasant (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सुखद
English Meaning - Something that is enjoyable, agreeable, or pleasing to the senses or feelings.

5.Persist (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - बना रहना
English Meaning - To continue firmly or obstinately despite opposition or difficulty.

6.Perishable (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - नष्ट होने वाला
English Meaning - Something that is likely to decay or spoil if not consumed.

7.Entrenched (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आरोपित, स्थापित
English Meaning - Something that is firmly established and difficult to change.

8.Elusive (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मायावी
English Meaning - Something that is difficult to find, catch, understand, or define.

9.Resurgence (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - पुनरुत्थान
English Meaning - Revival or renewal of activity, interest.

10.Faltering (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - लड़खड़ाना
English Meaning - Something that is hesitating or wavering in action or speech.