Policy Brief on Price Rise in India

The issues of price rise rocked both the houses of Parliament which saw washout of most of the official agenda in last few sessions and virtually no business was transacted. Both the government and policy makers seem helpless on the issue. It is in this light Social Watch India has decide to analyse the issue in depth from the viewpoint of aam admi.

Social Watch India is organizing Policy Dialogue on Price Rise with MPs and multiple stakeholders like Media, Academia and  Civil Society.

Highlights

1. High WPI & CPI based inflation: WPI was 8.39 % during 2008-09 and 9.3% during 2010-11 which was unusually high. CPI has been very high since 2006-07 compared to the previous half decade. It was 6.78% for industrial workers and 7.65 % for agricultural workers in 2006-07. Where it was 11.6% for Industrial workers and 10.44 for agricultural workers in 2010-11.
2. High food inflation: The current level of inflation is mainly driven by the prices of basic food items. It peaked at 16.2 per cent in January 2010 and averaged 11.8 per cent during the first 11 months of the year. Between January 2006 to February 2011 food driven WPI inflation ruled in double digit for 31 months. It was above 7 percent for 48 months and below 5 percent only for 4 months.
3. Across the board price rise: Between February 2006 and February 2011, food grain prices have increased by over 55 per cent, vegetables by 70 per cent, fruits by 60 per cent, milk by 74 per cent, and eggs, meat and fish nearly by 80 per cent. Food expenditures have gone up sharply for all Indians in the last half decade irrespective of the item of consumptions.

Details awaited!