Analysis of Inflation Indicators during the Period of UPA Government (India)

Abstract

Rising food prices hurt poor the most. The real burden of inflation is always higher than what the WPI figures suggest. Right through 2007, consumer inflation was running much higher for all categories. During the last month of 2007, inflation as measured by the consumer price index was above 5 per cent for the three categories of workers that are tracked by the official statistics, even as wholesale price inflation was just 3.5 per cent. Even as the government pulls out all stops to douse the fires of inflation, one should not forget that it is the outcome of years of neglect of agriculture. It has been observed that prices were highly volatile during the first half of 2008.  UPA government took office in may, 2004. Leaving the first year of office as it is with period lagged effect of earlier government, an analysis of period between April, 2005 to May 2008 (leaving highly volatile period from April, 2004 to March, 2005 and June, 2008 to July 2008, by the time this paper is written) needs to be carried out to see trends in prices.