Retail inflation projected to average 4.5% in 2024-25: RBI DG Patra

The retail inflation is projected to average 4.5 per cent in 2024-25 and align with the target on a durable basis by 2025-26, RBI deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra has said at a conference here.

The government has tasked the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation at 4 per cent with a tolerance band of +/- 2 per cent around it.

The inflation has remained below 6 per cent in the last three months.

Retail inflation is projected to average 4.5 per cent in 2024-25 before aligning with the target on a durable basis in 2025-26.

Speaking at the High-Level Conference "Central Banking at Crossroads" organised by the Reserve Bank of India as a part of the commemoration of its 90th year on Monday, Patra also stressed that the Indian experience is unique in view of the incidence of repetitive shocks to food and fuel prices, which challenged the conduct of monetary policy.

In India, price stability is a shared responsibility under which the