New Delhi, Nov 13 (Agency) Remaining below Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s upper tolerance level, India’s consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation dropped to 4.87% in October, data released by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said on Monday. Retail inflation print was 5.02% in September. During October, rural inflation stood at 5.12% while urban inflation was comparatively lower at 4.62%. Food inflation in October was 6.61%, almost the same as in September. As per official data, cereals and products inflation was 10.65% in October this year.
Fruits and vegetables inflation were 9.34% and 2.70% respectively during this period. Amid signs of downward trend in retail inflation, the RBI in its bi-monthly monetary policy review kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. This was the fourth time in a row that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI maintained status quo on the key interest rate. The RBI has projected headline CPI inflation at 5.4% for FY24. The central bank is tasked to maintain price stability in the country and maintain retail inflation at 4% with a margin of 2% on either side.