Retail inflation eased to 3 month low of 5.1 percent food prices sticky (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- India’s retail inflation eased to a three-month low of 5.1% in January from 5.7% a month earlier, with food price rise cooling a bit to 8.3% compared with 9.5% in December 2023.
- January’s headline inflation pace is slightly higher than the 5% average projected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the current final quarter of 2023-24.
- Any interest rate cut will have to wait till at least August if not longer, as the Central bank expects inflation to average 5% in the April to June quarter as well, before it hits its stated inflation target of 4% in the next quarter.
Food inflation:
- While overall inflation faced by urban consumers dropped to 4.92% from 5.5% a month ago, food inflation remained sharp at 9%, sliding a tad from 10.4% in December.
- By contrast, rural consumers faced food inflation of 7.91% in January, down from 9% in December, but their overall price rise pace was higher than their urban counterparts at 5.34%.
- On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped 0.11% while the Consumer Food Price Index fell 0.73%. In January 2023, CPI inflation stood at 6.52%, while food price inflation stood at 6%.
Inflation among food items:
- Among food items, vegetables inflation remained above 27%, just slightly below the 27.6% recorded in December.
- The price rise in pulses also cooled marginally from 20.7% in December to 19.5% in January.
- Cereals and spices inflation saw slightly better moderation, dropping from 9.9% and 19.7% in December to 7.8% and 16.4%, respectively.
- Fruits inflation also fell from 11.1% to 8.65% in January, while milk prices rose 4.6% compared with 5.1% in December.
- Inflation in eggs, however, picked up pace to touch 5.6% in January, as did sugar and confectionary price rise which hit 7.5% from 7.1% a month earlier.
Inflation in non-food items:
- Most non-food items continued to see weaker upticks in prices compared to food items, with personal care and effects that had clocked a 7.3% rise in prices in December, dropping below 6%.
- Education inflation inched up a tad from 4.77% in December to 4.93% in January, but the pace of rise in healthcare costs dropped from 5.1% to 4.8%.
- Half of the 22 major States for which the National Statistical Office calculates inflation rates registered a price rise below the national average of 5.1%, with Delhi recording the lowest inflation of 2.56%, followed by Madhya Pradesh (3.93%), Kerala (4.04%), and Tamil Nadu (4.12%).
- On the other hand, five States reported inflation of over 6%, breaching the RBI’s tolerance threshold for price rise. Those States are Odisha (7.55%), Telangana (6.34%), Haryana (6.24%), Gujarat (6.21%), and Karnataka which witnessed 6.1% inflation in January.
Centre revises guidelines for community radio stations to ensure its growth
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- To ensure the growth of the community radio sector, the government has increased the advertising time for community radio stations as well as the price rate for advertisements.
- It also increased the period for the grant of permission agreement from the existing five years to 10 years, according to the revised policy guidelines for the sector.
Key Highlights:
- Under the revised policy, the government has permitted any eligible organisation functional in multiple districts to set up a maximum of six community radio stations in different districts.
- The advertising time for community radio stations has been increased from seven minutes per hour to 12 minutes per hour, while the rate of advertisement has been hiked from Rs 52 to Rs 74 per 10 second.
- The policy also fixed the validity of the letter of intent issued to an organisation to one year, with a buffer of three months to the applicant for any unforeseen circumstances.
- The licensee will set up an advisory and content committee comprising members of the local community, with 50 per cent representation for women.
Community radio station (CRS):
- India's first community radio station (CRS) was inaugurated on the campus of the Anna University in 2004. Currently, there are 481 CRSs in India. More than 133 CRSs became operational in the last two years.
- CRSs are low-power radio stations, which are meant to be set up and operated by local communities.
- Community radio stations offer a platform where content is disseminated in localised dialects and regional languages. Local, context specific issues are raised and discussed in these stations in local idioms.
Way Forward:
- The revised policy guidelines are expected to fuel growth of the community radio sector.
