Delhi, 13 October (H.S.): Providing significant relief for consumers, India’s retail inflation rate plummeted to an eight-year low of 1.54 percent in September, down from 2.07 percent in the previous month.

The sharp decline is primarily attributed to a significant softening in the prices of essential food items, particularly vegetables and pulses.

According to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation stood at 5.49 percent in September 2024, highlighting a substantial year-on-year moderation. The main driver of this relief was the food price index, which registered a deflation of -2.28 percent in September.

This marks a further drop from the -0.64 percent recorded in August and stands in stark contrast to the high food inflation of 9.24 percent seen in September of the previous year.

The latest inflation figures are well below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) own projections. In its bi-monthly monetary policy statement in October, the central bank had revised its retail inflation forecast for the fiscal year 2025-26 downward to 2.6 percent from its earlier estimate of 3.1 percent in August.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar