Since last month, the Consumer Affairs Ministry has asked the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) to sell tomatoes at a lower price.

At first, the subsidy rate was set at 90 per kilogramme. As prices went down, the subsidy rate went down, too, so that consumers would get the most advantage.

“The last change to the retail price was on August 15, when it went down to 50/- per kg. As of August 20, the price has gone down even more, to 40 per kg,” a government statement said on Friday.

It said that so far, the two agencies have bought more than 15 lakh kilogrammes of tomatoes, which are being sold to retail customers in the country’s big consumption centres.

ALSO READ:Centre cuts price of subsidised tomato to Rs 70 per kg.

These places are Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan (Jaipur and Kota), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Prayagraj), and Bihar (Patna, Muzaffarpur, Arrah, and Buxar). NCCF and NAFED buy tomatoes from mandis in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

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On a quarterly basis, retail inflation (or the Consumer Price Index) is expected to be 4.6% in the first quarter, 5.2% in the second quarter, 5.4% in the third quarter, and 5.2% in the fourth quarter, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said Thursday while reading the monetary policy statement following a three-day deliberation.

During March-April 2023, India’s headline inflation decreased to 4.7% in April, the lowest level since November 2021.

“Tightening of monetary policy and supply-side policies contributed to this process. Das noted that food, fuel, and “core” (CPI excluding food and fuel) inflation all decreased.

“A durable deflation in the core component is essential for sustained alignment of headline inflation with the target,” he said.

Das added that as a result of the recent rabi harvest being “largely immune” to adverse weather, the near-term inflation outlook is more optimistic than it was at the April policy meeting.

Allow me to reiterate that headline inflation is still above the target and that being within the tolerance band is insufficient. Our objective continuing forward is to reach the target of 4%,” he added.

The RBI’s monetary policy committee voted unanimously to maintain the repo rate at 6.5 percent. Repo rate is the interest rate at which the Reserve Bank of India lends to other institutions.

With the key interest rate remaining unchanged, loan and deposit rates are anticipated to remain unchanged as well.

Consistently falling inflation (currently at its lowest level in 18 months) and the possibility of further decline may have prompted the central bank to once more reduce the key interest rate. The vast majority of analysts anticipated that the RBI would leave the repo rate unchanged.

Inflation has been a concern for many nations, including developed economies, but India has been able to effectively manage its inflation trajectory.

The RBI suspended the repo rate at its April meeting, the first of the fiscal year 2023-24.

In an effort to combat inflation, the RBI has cumulatively increased the repo rate by 250 basis points to 6.5% since May 2022, excluding the month of April. Raising interest rates is a monetary policy instrument that typically aids in stifling economic demand, thereby reducing inflation.

India’s retail inflation was above the RBI’s 6 percent target for three consecutive quarters, and only in November 2022 did it return to the RBI’s comfort zone. In accordance with the flexible inflation targeting framework, the RBI is deemed to have failed to control price increases if CPI-based inflation falls outside the range of 2 to 6 percent for three consecutive quarters.

Regarding the GDP outlook, the RBI anticipates India’s 2023-24 GDP growth to be 6.5%, with Q1 growth of 8%, Q2 growth of 6.5%, Q3 growth of 6%, and Q4 growth of 5.75%. Today, while reading the monetary policy statement, the governor of the RBI, Shaktikanta Das, stated that the central bank considers the risks to these GDP figures to be evenly balanced.

According to recent estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), real GDP growth for 2022-23 was 7.2%, which was higher than the expected 7%. The government anticipates an upward revision to the GDP figures for 2022-23 moving forward.

Also read this:Repo rate, inflation and GDP: What did RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee say today

In spite of robust global headwinds and stricter domestic monetary policy tightening, India is expected to be one of the fastest-growing economies in 2023-24, supported by robust growth in private consumption and sustained pick-up in private investment.

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Here are RBI’s most important announcements:

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) votes unanimously to maintain the reserve rate at 6.5%. The MPC will remain focused on the withdrawal of policy accommodation.
• The retail inflation forecast decreased to 5.1% from 5.2% previously. It is probable that headline inflation will remain above the 4% target for the remainder of the year.
• Domestic demand conditions continue to be conducive to expansion.
• The projected real GDP growth for FY23/24 is 6.5%.
• The projections for each quarter are as follows: Q1 is 8%, Q2 is 6.5%, Q3 is 6%, and Q4 is 5.7%.
• The net inflow of non-resident deposits increased from USD 3.2 billion in FY’22 to USD 8 billion in FY’23.
• Since this year’s January, the Indian rupee has remained stable.
• The current account deficit is anticipated to moderate further in the fourth quarter and remain manageable. Forex reserves are at acceptable levels.
• Due to geopolitical circumstances, global economic activity will decelerate.
• MPC will continue to take prompt and appropriate policy actions to securely anchor inflation expectations.

Also read this:BSF guns down Pakistani drone near international border in Amritsar

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Gold prices are on fire and every day it is creating new records. Encouraged by the increase in sales during Diwali and Dhanteras in October last year, jewelers were expecting an increase in demand in the new year, but the rate at which the price of gold is rising, seems to be dashing these hopes. Internationally, gold prices have increased from around $1,615 in November 2022 to around $1,921 an ounce now. According to the Indian Bullion Jewelers Association, gold is trading at a new record high of Rs 5,681 per gram in the domestic market.

Old record was broken last week

Last week on Friday, Gold touched a new high of Rs 56,245 per 10 grams, breaking its record for the last 28 months. This was its new high after August 2020. Let us tell you that earlier on August 8, 2020, the price of gold had reached Rs 56,191 per 10 grams. On the other hand, on the first trading day of the week, it reached a new record high on Monday and according to Indian Bullion Jewelers (IBJ), gold has reached Rs 56,810 per ten grams.

sky high price in domestic market

Talking about the domestic market, according to the website of the Indian Bullion Jewelers Association (IBJA), Fine Gold (999) was trading at Rs 56,681 after removing GST till 2.30 pm on Monday. Apart from this, the price of 22 carat gold was Rs 55,450 per 10 grams and 20 carat gold was at Rs 50,560 per 10 grams.

Significantly, mostly only 22 carats are used for making jewellery. Some people also use 18 carat gold. Hall mark is made on the jewelery according to the carat. 999 is written on 24 carat gold jewellery, while 958 is written on 23 carat, 916 on 22 carat, 875 on 21 carat and 750 on 18 carat.

Effect of low inflation in US

According to experts who closely monitor the commodity market, the impact of the reduction in US Inflation figures is being seen on gold prices. There has been a fall in the dollar index, due to which there is a strong increase in the prices of gold in foreign markets. Due to this, the price of gold is on the high even in the domestic markets.

before the wedding season

This big jump in gold prices has come at a time when the wedding season is about to begin. Due to the decrease in the inflation rate, the expectation has increased that now there will be a brake on the pace of increase in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed). On the other hand, a decline was registered in the global rate of silver.

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