New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh addresses a press conference at AICC office in New Delhi on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. (Photo: IANS/Prem Nath Pandey)
New Delhi, September 14 (IANS) The Opposition Congress took a dig at the government over the increase in inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI), official figures for which were released on Monday.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Official data just released shows that for four consecutive months now the WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation has been hovering around 10 per cent. Prices of all essential commodities have continued their upward rise, causing huge hardships to crores of families.”
“To compound the misery, according to CMIE data, inflation-adjusted wages have also been consistently falling with a 5.7 per cent drop since April. Rural India has seen a massive 9 per cent decline - even in nominal terms, rural wages have fallen,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
“The PM keeps saying everything is good, but actually everything is more expensive,” Ramesh added.
WPI inflation has risen since the beginning of the current financial year, with higher global crude oil and fertiliser prices as the Strait of Hormuz has been choked in the wake of the West Asia conflict, which has led to a surge in the prices of crude oil.
Brent crude prices spiked further to $110 per barrel on Monday as Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, which was damaged in a drone attack this week, has been shut.
The Middle East conflict has also escalated with the Houthi rebels in Yemen taking control of the Red Sea route which is crucial for oil exports from the Gulf. The situation has taken a turn for the worse as the route provided Saudi Arabia an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz for exporting oil.
India’s wholesale price-based inflation rose to 9.92 per cent in August from 9.78 per cent in July, according to government data released on Monday.
Food inflation rose to 7.05 per cent from 6.65 per cent during the period, while inflation in manufactured products touched a series high of 8.37 per cent, compared with 8.29 per cent in July.
Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation, based on the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series, edged up to 4.82 per cent in August this year compared to the same month of the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Monday.
The commodities that posted the highest inflation during the month were silver jewellery which saw a 107.11 per cent jump in prices and gold jewellery which clocked a 35.55 per cent increase in prices.
The CPI inflation is still within the RBI’s tolerance zone, which ranges from 2 per cent to 6 per cent and has 4 per cent as the midpoint. The RBI’s monetary policy aims to keep inflation within this zone as it balances its objective of promoting economic growth with stability.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said, after the latest announcement of the monetary policy review, that headline inflation has moved above target mainly because of higher fuel prices, while broader price pressures remain in check. The RBI maintained a status quo on the repo rate to push growth.
