India's CPI Inflation Touches 14-Month High of 6.21%: Food Price Hike Contributes to Surge

New Delhi: India's retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), shot up to a 14-month high of 6.21% in October 2024, according to the latest official data released on Tuesday.

The latest inflation print is beyond the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance limit of 6% (+/- 2%), which the RBI has been tasked by the government to ensure inflation remains at 4% with a margin of 2% on either side.

Food price hikes were also reported, with food inflation skyrocketing to 10.87% in October 2024, compared with 9.24% in September 2024 and 6.61% in October 2023.

The surge has also been attributed to the rising prices of housing, water, fuel, and light, which grew by 9.32%, 8.41%, 17.31%, and 15.66%, respectively.

Industry Affairs Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the inflation print was "concerning" but asserted that the government is taking proactive measures to control prices and curb inflation.

"We are committed to ensuring that inflation remains within the RBI's tolerance limit," Gehlot said in a statement.

Simultaneously, India's industrial production grew by 3.1% in September 2024, according to official data released on Tuesday. In the previous month of August, the factory output was in the negative territory at (-) 0.1%.

The IIP growth had stood at 6.4% in September 2023.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) released the monthly data on industrial production, which showed that the growth in mining, manufacturing and electricity for September 2024 stood at 0.2%, 3.9%, and 0.5%, respectively.

"This growth rate is a cause of concern as it can be affected by any number of variables including government policies as well as broader events affecting businesses overall," said Ramesh Chandra, Secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (assocham).

First Published: November 12, 2024, [Time]