By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s annual rate of inflation, based on wholesale prices index, rose sharply to 7.31 percent in December from 4.78 percent in the previous month mainly on account of increasing food prices, official data released Thursday showed.
The annual inflation rate was 6.15 percent in December 2008.
The latest data released by the commerce ministry showed prices of food articles jumped 19.17 percent last month, while those for primary articles rose 14.88 percent, and fuel, power, light and lubricants by 4.29 percent.
The inflation rate for manufactured products, as a group, was up 5.17 percent.
The government, which has been facing criticism on account of soaring food prices, has called a meeting of all state chief ministers Jan 27 to discuss the issue.
The Reserve Bank of India and the government have warned that India’s annual inflation rate, based on wholesale price index for all commodities, will rise to 6-6.5 percent by March, while the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council pegged it at 6 percent.
Addressing a meeting of state finance ministers at a pre-budget meeting Wednesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the economic revival last year happened through a collaborative effort by the central and state governments, and that food inflation was needed to be tackled similarly.