PM Modi: Even with Adversities, Global Dynamics, India’s 2022 Inflation Lower than World Average | Exclusive – News18

Even in the face of adversities and global dynamics, India’s inflation was two percentage points lower than the global average rate in 2022, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an exclusive interview with moneycontrol.com on Tuesday.

Inflation has been easing so far this year but is yet to show a consistent softening pattern. India’s headline retail inflation rate crashed past the upper bound of the RBI’s 2-6 per cent tolerance range in July and shot up to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent, spurred on by a massive increase in vegetable prices.

“As far as India is concerned, we have taken a number of steps to control inflation. Even in the face of adversities and global dynamics, India’s inflation was two percentage points lower than the global average inflation rate in 2022,” said PM Modi in the exclusive interview. “Yet, we are not resting at that and are continuing to make pro-people decisions to boost ease of living. For example, recently on Raksha Bandhan, you saw how we reduced the prices of LPG for all consumers.”

In August, the finance ministry in its monthly report said that price pressure on food items is expected to be transitory, but the government and RBI need to step up vigil to deal with elevated inflationary pressure. While domestic consumption and investment demand are expected to continue driving growth, global and regional uncertainties and domestic disruptions may keep inflationary pressures elevated for the coming months, warranting greater vigilance by the government and the RBI, it said.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday that monetary policy has to be forward-looking and adopting a policy approach looking only at the rear-view mirror can lead to accidents. He maintained that it is necessary for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to watch price stability and act appropriately while adding that the supply-side measures taken by the fiscal authorities are of critical importance.