Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has raised the concern over rising inflation with his latest tweet regarding the price rise of a cup of tea. Chidambaram on X, formerly Twitter, wrote that inflation in West Bengal is higher than in Tamil Nadu.

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He said, “I just discovered that Tea made of Hot Water and a Tea Bag costs Rs 340 in Kolkata airport. The restaurant is ‘The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’. A couple of years ago I found that ‘hot water and tea bag’ cost Rs 80 in Chennai airport, and I tweeted about it.”

In his tweet, he even asked the Airport Authority of India to take action against this. “AAI took note and took corrective steps,” Chidambaram wrote.

So far, the post has garnered over 100K views and ignited the conversation about the rising price of everyday use items in high-traffic areas like airports. Reacting to the tweet, a user wrote, “Airport vendors get license on highest bidder basis. Therefore they have to sell at higher rates to make profit. In Singapore, airport vendors cannot charge higher than city rates as per bid condition.” While another added, “I carry my tea bags and just buy hot water.”

What is India’s current retail inflation?

According to the Consumer Price Index, the retail inflation in India in August 2024 was recorded 3.65 per cent, marking a decline of 6.83 per cent from the same period of corresponding year. Notedly, it increased from July 2024 as in July, it was recorded 3.54 per cent.

Additionally, inflation is varied in different states. For instance, Bihar has the highest inflation rate as in August 2024, it recorded 6.62 per cent, this is followed by Odisha with 5.63 per cent and Assam at 5.03 per cent.