New Delhi, May 13 || India’s retail inflation fell to 3.16 per cent in April from 3.34 per cent in March to its lowest level since July 2019, as food prices eased further bringing respite to household budgets, according to figures released by the Ministry of Statistics on Tuesday.
Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, slowed to 1.78 per cent in April, compared to 2.69 per cent in March.
This is for the third month in row that inflation has stayed below the RBI’s 4 per cent medium-term target and will enable the central bank to continue with its soft money policy to spur economic growth.
India’s annual inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined to 3.34 per cent in March this year, compared to the same month of the previous year, which was the lowest level since August 2019.
Retail inflation in the country has been on a declining trend in recent months. The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has reduced its inflation forecast for 2025-26 to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent earlier as the “outlook for food inflation has turned decisively positive,” said RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra during the monetary policy review meeting recently.