Why is it in the news?
- Consumer Price Index(CPI), eased in October to 3.31% due to slowing price growth in the food, housing, and footwear segments.
More in the news
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Retail inflation in October is the lowest since September 2017 when it had touched 3.28 per cent.
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The ‘food and beverages’ segment registered a deflation of 0.14 per cent as against 1.08 per cent inflation a month ago.
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Vegetable inflation declined by 8.06 per cent in October against a provisional 4.15 per cent in September.
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The retail inflation also cooled in protein-rich items like cereals, eggs, milk and related products.
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However, inflation quickened to 8.55 percent for the ‘fuel and light’ category against 8.47 percent in the previous month.
Policy rate
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After two successive hikes, the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee had kept interest rates unchanged in its last review.
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RBI cited a tepid inflation trajectory and downward revision of inflation projections.
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RBI’s next policy review is scheduled for 5 December.
Concept
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Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services in a county.
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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures changes in the price level of a ‘market basket’ of consumer goods and services purchased by households.
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The CPI is a statistical estimate constructed using the prices of a sample of representative items whose prices are collected periodically.
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The overall index of price is calculated mostly by national statistical agencies.
Source
The Hindu, Indian Express.