मुख्य समाचार
It is noteworthy that according to the data published by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on August 14, wholesale inflation fell to a three-month low of 2.04 percent in July 2024. It was 3.36 percent in June. The special thing is that according to the Consumer Price Index based retail inflation data released on August 12, the retail inflation rate has come down to 3.54 percent in July 2024, while the retail inflation rate was 5.08 percent in June 2024. The comforting situation is that the economy will be seen getting stronger due to the retail inflation rate being the lowest in the last 5 years and below the target of 4 percent set by the Reserve Bank.
There is no doubt that the retail inflation rate has come down due to a major reduction in the prices of food grains, fruits, vegetables, especially potatoes, onions and tomatoes etc. due to better monsoon. Recently on August 8, RBI has retained the repo rate at 6.5 percent as before under the monetary policy review in view of the rising inflation in the country. This is the 9th consecutive time that it has been decided to keep the repo rate unchanged in the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The repo rate was last changed in February 2023. Under this monetary policy review, priority has been given to inflation control instead of fast growth rate. Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said that keeping in mind the continued economic growth, there is still a need to focus clearly on inflation. Continuous strategic steps to control inflation are necessary through coordinated efforts of the Reserve Bank and the government. According to Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the amount ensured for the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) to the Department of Consumer Affairs under the budget for the year 2024-25 will be used to provide funds to agencies related to food storage so that they can buy directly from the farmers' field or market to create suitable storage. Apart from this, under the new budget, the amount of loans for food storage and warehousing for the Department of Food and Public Distribution has been doubled to Rs 50,000 crore this year.
Undoubtedly, there are many such provisions under the new budget which will encourage more food grain production and inflation control. Huge incentives have been ensured on natural farming and in the next two years, one crore farmers will be encouraged to adopt natural farming. 10 thousand bio input centers will be set up across the country, from where natural farming activities will be conducted. Increasing the support amount for crops that get spoiled due to weather will give new impetus to agriculture. In the new budget, more provisions have been made for the development of agricultural research along with tackling the challenges of climate change, increasing the production of pulses and oilseeds and increasing the income of farmers, solving the problem of seeds and reducing the challenges of issues such as affecting the productivity of main crops. It is worth mentioning that on August 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 109 new and improved varieties of 61 crops while visiting the fields of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) campus in New Delhi and said that these will help in getting more yield in less land in the country and increasing the income of farmers. This will also prevent inflation.
There is no doubt that the better monsoon that the government has inherited this year will also reduce inflation further. The benefits of better monsoon are being seen in every corner of the country. The Agriculture Ministry, in its report on the increase in the area of Kharif crops on August 12, said that sowing of Kharif crops in the current Kharif season has so far reached the level of 980 lakh hectares, which was only 966 lakh hectares in the same period last year. This year, due to a good monsoon, the production of pulses, oilseeds and grains will increase and their prices will come down due to increased supply. A better monsoon will strengthen the rural economy, which will increase consumption in rural areas.
Certainly, the way inflation has come down due to the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank, financial control of the government and better monsoon, now some more steps need to be taken to keep it under control as well as to increase the economic strength of rural India.
