The Modi government on Monday blamed external factors — increased international prices of crude and edible oils — for the surge in retail and wholesale inflation.
“The uptrend in inflation has been largely led by exogenous factors viz. increased international prices of crude oil and edible oils which have an impact on domestic inflation due to India’s import dependence on these items,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha.
She said retail inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) in October at 4.48 per cent is well within the tolerance limit of 2-6 per cent set for the RBI. The rise in wholesale inflation to 12.54 per cent in October was mostly driven by “fuel and power’’ and manufactured products.
