Above-normal monsoon forecast to ease inflationary concerns: Finance ministry
Also read: Heatwave alert: IMD says temperature to soar in Bengal, Odisha, and other states "Consequently, retail inflation in FY2023-24 witnessed a significant decline, reaching its lowest level since the covid-19 pandemic, with core inflation dropping to 3.3% in March 2024," it added. Core inflation strips out the prices of food and energy that tend to be volatile.
Last week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast the June-September south-west monsoon to be above normal—at 106% of the long-period or 50-year average of 87 cm of rainfall. The upbeat prediction has bolstered hopes of a revival of farm sector growth, hit by erratic rainfall last year.
"Further easing of food prices is on the anvil as IMD has predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season, which is likely to lead to higher production, assuming good spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall," the ministry said. Also read: When food inflation became main course on MPC menu India's food inflation, accounting for nearly half the overall consumer price basket, eased to 8.52% in March, from 8.66% in February, as prices of meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables remained elevated.
Food inflation stood at 8.30% in January and 9.53% in December. Meanwhile, retail inflation, as measured by consumer price index, fell to a 10-month low of 4.85% in March, slipping below the 5%-mark for the first time since November 2023, but still remaining above the central bank's target of 4%.
The finance ministry expects the trade deficit to decline in the coming years on the back of the production-linked incentive scheme, whose coverage will be deepened and extended to newer sectors. The PLI scheme currently targets 14 sectors such as telecom, electronics,
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