Various key data points like inflation are not being measured correctly in India, says National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development chairperson KV Kamath.
“I think there are many things that we are not doing right. The first is that we are not measuring things right. I’ll start with inflation. People are asking — are the CPI numbers properly done? It does not need much thinking. It is not properly done. The base year is 10 years minus. It does not sound logical to me,” the veteran banker said at the Association of Registered Investment Advisers summit on Friday.
“If you look at food prices over the last six months, I see a clear decline and that is not reflected in the numbers. Something is not right. Now, we come to income distribution, we are not counting right. When we come to employment, we are not counting right,” he added.
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Kamath’s comments come at a time India’s retail inflation has risen to 6.52% in January from 5.72% in December. In fact, the recently released minutes of the RBI’s February monetary policy reflect concerns of the MPC members over persistent inflationary pressures.