New Delhi: The increase in wholesale price inflation in June was largely driven by price pressures in goods that are sensitive to global commodity and energy prices, the Parliament was informed on Monday.
However, the government has been actively undertaking a series of measures to control inflation and mitigate its impact on consumers, which has helped to rein in retail inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI), Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question.
These measures include augmenting buffer stocks for essential food items, selling procured grains in the open market to bring down prices, and calibrating trade policies, he added.
On a year-on-year basis, wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation increased from 9.68 per cent in May to 9.87 per cent in June.
However, as a result of the steps taken by the government to control inflation, the retail or Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rate has been 3.1 per cent (January-March of FY26) and 3.9 per cent (April-June FY’27), the minister said.
“The rise in WPI inflation is largely driven by the price pressures in commodities that are more sensitive to global energy and commodity price movements, particularly mineral oils (including petroleum products), food articles, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products,” Chaudhary said.
He said that the government, in consultation with the RBI, determines the CPI retail inflation target once every five years to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of promoting strong economic growth.
The government in March this year notified the CPI inflation target at 4 per cent with a lower tolerance level of 2 per cent and upper tolerance level of 6 per cent, for the period from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031.
India’s retail inflation rose to 4.38 per cent in June 2026, up from 3.93 per cent in May, driven primarily by higher food prices and transport costs due to escalating fuel prices.
(IANS)
