etail inflation for the month of December 2019 has sharply spiked to 7.

35 per
cent from 5.54 per cent a month ago, breaching the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI)
upper-limit target.
It is the highest retail inflation rate witnessed since July 2014 when retail
inflation was at 7.39 per cent, triggering further growth concerns amid a slowing
economy.
The Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) or retail inflation figures, released by the
National Statistical Office (NSO), indicated that inflation has further jumped from
November when it hit a 40-month high of 5.54 per cent.
While core inflation has increased marginally in December to 3.7 per cent, the
real worry for the RBI and government is the rate of food (vegetable) inflation,
which is the key trigger behind the steep rise in inflation in December 2019.
According to NSO data, food inflation has jumped significantly to 14.12 per cent
from 10.01 per cent in November 2019. It is worth mentioning that vegetable
inflation rose to 60.5 per cent in December compared to 36 per cent in
November.
With retail inflation breaching the RBI's upper limit inflation target of 4 (+2), the
RBI prediction of a "much higher" rate of inflation has come true as well.
While RBI had decided against a repo rate cut in its December policy review, it
would be interesting to see the central bank's next move as inflation has been on
the rise for three consecutive months.
The sharp rise in retail inflation in December comes as another blow to the
economy at a time when the government projects it to grow in the current fiscal
at five per cent, which is the slowest pace of growth in 11 years.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday accused the Congress of attempting to
weaken it, a day after a Punjab Minister termed it to be a personal fiefdom of the
‘Badals’.

SAD leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundur and Prem Singh Chandumajra, in a joint
statement, said the way in which Congress Ministers ‘jumped into the fray’ to
help MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son Parminder Dhindsa (both suspended
last week from the SAD for “anti party” activities) proved that they were being
used as pawns by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in an attempt to weaken the
'Panthic' party after failing on all fronts.

“Now with Congress Ministers taking on the job of spokespersons for the
'Dhindsa' family. it is clear that they are working as per a fixed game plan in
collusion with each other. The cat is out of the bag. The Dhindsa faction, which
consists of Mr. Dhindsa, his son Parminder and son-in-law Tejinderpal Singh
Sidhu only, are being supported by the Congress with the sole aim of splitting
‘Panthic’ votes,” said the leaders.

The entire rank and file of the SAD was solidly behind party president Sukhbir
Singh Badal. “The truth is that no one had left the SAD to join the Dhindsa faction.
As many as 11 Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) members
from Sangrur and Barnala are standing rock solid with the SAD. Even the four
circle presidents nominated by the Dhindsa family recently have chosen to side
with the SAD,” they stated.