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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | The poor are bearing the brunt of inflation -Krishna Raj

The poor are bearing the brunt of inflation -Krishna Raj

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published Published on May 18, 2022   modified Modified on May 19, 2022

-The Tribune

The prices of essential food items have increased by 50% in seven years, whereas the real wage rate has risen by 22%. These figures show that inflation has outsmarted the real income of the poor, making their lives miserable as the food basket constitutes a substantial proportion of the total expenditure on the poor. The net effect is that the poor earn less and take loans to maintain the minimum standard of living.

India’s inflation and temperature levels are soaring high, affecting the poor and middle class the most. In contrast, the rich continue to be unaffected as they shelter under air-conditioners and affluence. India’s retail inflation estimated in applying the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has unprecedentedly increased to 7.79% in April since 2014, according to sources in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, whereas India’s average mean and maximum levels of temperature in April have increased to 31.35°C and 35.30°C, respectively, as per records of the India Meteorological Department. The onslaught of both on the poor is terrible, making them more vulnerable. But nature may show mercy on the poor in easing the temperature during the coming southwest monsoon, but the high inflation or general price rise has become the new normal for 50-crore poor people of India for the past few years.

As per the OPHI (Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative) and UNDP Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021, about 22.5 per cent of the Indians are extremely poor and they struggle for survival with less than $2 per day. Further, multi-dimensional poverty in terms of health, education and standard of living is much lower than the income poverty. In recent times, more Indians have been pushed into the absolute poverty trap due to the onslaught of Covid-19, joblessness and high inflation. Both the retail and wholesale inflation measured in Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) are on the rise consecutively for the past several months. The CPI inflation is steadily increasing from 6.01% in January, 6.07% in February, 6.95% in March and 7.79% in April 2022. The WPI inflation is also constantly on the rise from 13.68% in January to 14.55% in March as per sources in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Even though the Russia-Ukraine war has exacerbated global inflation in recent times, inflation in India existed much before the war due to rising fuel and food prices and the government’s price stabilisation policy has yielded no result. India’s rural poor have borne the burden of price rise as consumer food prices in rural areas have increased from 3.94% in March 2021 to 7.66% in 2022. Among the food basket of CPI, the price rise in oils and fats is about 24.3% while fuel, light, transportation and communication are 11%. Even though the crude oil prices in international market have increased to $110 per barrel, the Central and State taxes on fuel constitute 55% and 50% on petrol and diesel, respectively, and are still high in domestic markets. The high food and fuel inflation rates are mainly responsible for pushing the cost of input and output prices which resulted in an increase in wholesale inflation.

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The Tribune, 18 May, 2022, https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/the-poor-are-bearing-the-brunt-of-inflation-395694


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