The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation in India increased marginally in March, climbing to 0.53 per cent on an annual basis. The inflation rate in the preceding month touched 0.2 per cent, official government data revealed.


The data from the Ministry of Commerce released on Monday revealed that the WPI inflation in March stood at 0.5 per cent, while the number remained at 1.34 per cent for the same month a year earlier. The ministry attributed the positive inflation rate to rise in prices of food articles, electricity, crude petroleum, natural gas, machinery, equipment, manufacturing etc. 


The annual rate of inflation in the food index increased to 4.65 per cent in March 2024, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, while the rate for February 2024 stood at 4.09 per cent. The food index inflation rate for January 2024 touched 3.85 per cent, the data revealed.


On a monthly basis, the WPI index changed 0.40 per cent in March 2024, against February 2024. The food index inflation rate for March stood at 1.01 per cent, while the rate for February and January touched 0.11 per cent and -1 per cent respectively.


The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is indicative of the prices received by producers in the wholesale market, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides details about the retail prices, thus, forming the foundation for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to base its monetary policy decisions on.


The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) releases the index number of wholesale prices in India on a monthly basis. This data is released on 14th of every month or the next working day with a time lag of two weeks of the reference month. The index data is then put together with inputs received from institutional sources and certain manufacturing units in the country. 


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