Retail inflation for industrial workers rises marginally to 4.98% in Nov

New Delhi: Retail inflation for industrial workers increased marginally to 4.98 per cent in November compared to 4.45 per cent in October this year, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. Food inflation stood at 7.95 per cent against 6.27 per cent in the previous month (October 2023) and 4.30 per cent during the corresponding month (November 2022) a year ago, a labour ministry statement said.

According to the statement, year-on-year inflation for the month stood at 4.98 per cent in November compared to 4.45 per cent for the previous month (October 2023) and 5.41 per cent during the corresponding month (November 2022) a year before.

The All-India CPI-IW (Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers) for November 2023 increased by 0.7 points and stood at 139.1 points. The CPI-IW was 138.4 points in October 2023. On one-month percentage change, it increased by 0.51 per cent with respect to the previous month, whereas it remained stationary between the corresponding month a year ago, the statement said.

The maximum upward pressure in the current index came from the Food and Beverages group, contributing 0.65 percentage points to the total change. At item level, Rice, Wheat, Wheat Atta, Jowar, Arhar Dal/Tur Dal, Urd Dal, Eggs-Hen, Gingelly oil, Coconut fresh with Pulp, Carrot, Drum-stick, French beans, Garlic, Lady's Finger, Onion, Tomato, Sugar-White, Cumin seed/Jira, Cooked Meals, Zarda/kimam/Surti/Gutka, Leaf Tobacco, Tailoring Charges, Trouser Pants readymade, Leather Sandal/Chappal/Slippers, Electricity Charges (Domestic), Books-School/ITI, Tuition and other fees-College, etc. are responsible for the rise in index. However, this increase was largely checked by Fish Fresh, Poultry/Chicken, Soyabean oil, Sunflower Oil, Apple, Banana, Grapes, Orange, Capsicum, Cauliflower, Chillies Green, Ginger, Lemon, Peas, Medicine Allopathic, etc, putting downward pressure on the index.

At the centre level, Tirunelveli recorded a maximum increase of 4.1 points. Among others, 3 centres recorded an increase between 3 to 3.9 points, 5 centres between 2 to 2.9 points, 19 centres between 1 to 1.9 points, and 36 centres between 0.1 to 0.9 points. On the contrary, Gurugram recorded a maximum decrease of 1.5 points followed by Ahmedabad and Kollam with 1.0 points each. Among others, 18 centres recorded a decrease between 0.1 to 0.9 points. The rest of the three centres' indices remained stationary.

The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, has been compiling the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers every month on the basis of retail prices collected from 317 markets spread over 88 industrially important centres in the country. The index is compiled for 88 centres and All-India and is released on the last working day of the succeeding month.