Low Food Prices Cut Retail Inflation for Industrial Workers to 5.14%

Retail inflation for industrial workers fell to 5.14 per cent in April, falling from 5.64 per cent in March, owing to decreased costs for some food goods.

"Year-on-year inflation for the month (April) stood at 5.14 per cent compared to 5.64 per cent for the previous month and 5.45 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year," the labour ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Food inflation was 4.78 per cent in April, dropping from 5.36 per cent the previous month, as per the statement. In April 2020, the rate was 6.56 per cent.

The Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) for April 2021 climbed by 0.5 points to 120.1 points, up from 119.6 points in March.

In terms of a one-month percentage change, it increased by 0.42 per cent in April compared to March of this year, and by 0.92 per cent compared to the same time last year.

The Food and Beverage group exerted the most upward pressure on the current index, contributing 0.43 percentage points to the overall change.

Arhar Dal, Masur Dal, Fish Fresh, Goat Meat, Poultry Chicken, Eggs-Hen, Edible Oils, Apple, Banana, Grapes, Leechi, Orange, Papaya, Tea Leaf, Tea Hot-drink, Barber/Beautician Charges, Flowers/Flower Garlands, Doctor's Fee, Rail Fare, Servicing Charges of Motor Cycle and Cable Charges were among those that contributed to the increase in the index at an item level.

The rise was largely checked by items such as Rice, Onion, Bitter Gourd, Drum Stick, Lady Finger, Parval, Cooking Gas, and Petrol.

At the centre, Jabalpur saw the largest gain of 3.6 points, followed by Raipur and Bhavnagar, which saw 3.2 and 3.1 point increases, respectively.

Six centres saw increases ranging from 2 to 2.9 points, while 11 others saw increases ranging from 1 to 1.9 points. The rise ranged from 0 to 0.9 points in 49 centres.

Coonoor recorded the largest drop of 2.3 points, while three centres saw drops ranging from 1 to 1.9 points, and 15 centres experienced reductions ranging from 0 to 0.9 points.

According to Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, an increase in the index will result in higher wages for the working class due to an increase in the dearness allowance payable to them.

"Decline in inflation during April 2021 is a sign of respite for consumers which is mainly due to lower retail prices of vegetables," he noted. CPI-IW is the single most important price statistics that have financial implications.

Its main function is to monitor the dearness allowance for government employees and industrial workers. In addition to assessing inflation in retail prices, it is used to set and revise minimum salaries in scheduled employments.

The rise in the index in April 2021 is in accordance with all other price indices compiled and issued, as per Director General Labour Bureau D P S Negi and a drop in inflation during the month has been noted across all retail pricing indices provided by other government organisations.

Every month, the Labour Bureau, an attached unit of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, compiles the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers based on retail prices collected from 317 markets dispersed in 88 industrially significant centres across the country.

The data is published on the last working day of the month following.