According to government data, retail inflation rose to a 15-month high of 7.44 percent in July.
Indore:
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday that the central bank expects retail inflation to decline from this month. He referred to the central government’s moves to control the prices of vegetables such as tomatoes, the restrictions on the export of non-basmati rice and the reduction in the prices of household LPG cylinders.
Mr. Das addressed a program organized by Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya in Indore to interact with local students. Previously, he also attended the central board meeting of the Reserve Bank.
“We expect (retail) inflation to start falling from September. Although (retail) inflation will be very high in August, we expect inflation to decline from September onwards.
Tomato prices have already fallen and retail prices of other vegetables are expected to fall as well from this month, he said.
Mr Das said the government has taken several steps to ensure an affordable supply of tomatoes and other items of common need for the population.
“Restrictions have been imposed on the export of non-basmati rice. The prices of LPG cylinders used in homes have recently been reduced.’
According to government data, retail inflation rose to a 15-month high of 7.44 percent in July.
“In July (retail) inflation was at a very high level. That surprised everyone. But we expected it to remain high in July, especially due to the high prices of tomatoes and other vegetables.”
He claimed that despite all the global challenges, India is one of the fastest growing major economies in the world.
Mr Das said Indian banks’ position is strong and stable thanks to strict regulatory measures, “but the domestic finance community should always be vigilant”.
“You must have seen the bankruptcy of some banks in the US recently and big banks like Credit Suisse in Switzerland. But this global turmoil had no impact on India,” he said.
Mr Das also said that due to the promotion of digital payments, the number of transactions through UPI in the country has surpassed 10 billion in August.
The governor of the RBI said efforts are being made to promote feature phone payments in the country so that even people in remote areas who do not have smartphones and where there is a problem with mobile networks can take advantage of this opportunity.
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