India's retail inflation hits 6-year low; falls to 4.6% in FY25: Govt

The year-on-year (YoY) inflation rate for March this year dropped to 3.34 per cent—a decline of 27 basis points (bps) from February, marking the lowest monthly inflation rate since August 2019.

Headline inflation fell from 3.79 per cent in February to 3.25 per cent in March this year. In urban areas, it rose marginally to 3.43 per cent in March—up from 3.32 per cent in February. However, food inflation declined significantly from 3.15 per cent to 2.48 per cent.

Retail inflation in India has followed a steady downward path over the past three fiscals, falling from 6.7 per cent in FY23 to 5.4 per cent in FY24.

The YoY food inflation based on the consumer food price index (CFPI) stood at 2.69 per cent in March, the lowest since November 2021. This marks a sharp decline of 106 basis points from the previous month.

“This consistent moderation highlights the combined impact of the Reserve Bank of India’s calibrated monetary policy and the government of India’s focused interventions to ease supply-side constraints and stabilise prices of essential commodities. The declining trend has helped ease cost-of-living pressures and fostered a more stable environment for economic growth,” a release from the ministry said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)