Inflation burden eases further in April for India's farm and rural workers

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) The year-on-year inflation rates based on the all-India consumer price index for agricultural labourers (CPI-AL) and rural labourers (CPI-RL) for April this year eased further to 3.48 per cent and 3.53 per cent, respectively -- compared to 7.03 per cent and 6.96 per cent in April 2024 -- bringing respite to poor households, the government said on Tuesday.

The inflation rate has also come down on a month-to-month basis as corresponding figures for March 2025 stood at 3.73 per cent for CPI-AL and 3.86 per cent for CPI-RL.

The inflation rate for agricultural and rural labourers has been steadily declining over the last six months. This comes as a welcome relief for these vulnerable segments that are hit hardest by spiralling prices. It also leaves more money in their hands to buy a wider range of goods, leading to a better lifestyle, according to figures released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The decline in inflation for farm and rural workers has also come in the backdrop of a fall in the country’s overall retail inflation to 3.16 per cent in April from 3.34 per cent in March to its lowest level since July, 2019 as food prices eased further bringing respite to household budgets.

Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, slowed to 1.78 per cent in April, compared to 2.69 per cent in March.

This is for the third month in row that inflation has stayed below the RBI’s 4 per cent medium-term target and will enable the central bank to continue with its soft money policy to spur economic growth.

Retail inflation in the country has been on a declining trend in recent months. The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has reduced its inflation forecast for 2025-26 to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent earlier as the “outlook for food inflation has turned decisively positive,” RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said during the monetary policy review meeting recently.

The outlook for food inflation has turned decisively positive. The uncertainties regarding rabi crops have abated considerably and the second advance estimates point to a record wheat production and higher production of key pulses over that last year. Along with robust kharif arrivals, this is expected to set the stage for a durable softening of food inflation.

--IANS

sps/na