Government Hopes Inflation To Moderate In Near Future, Says Top Official

Inflation is likely to come down in the coming months as Government as well as the central bank have taken required measures to cool down price rise, Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said on Monday.

"We do expect that in the coming months inflation should be moderating and whatever measures were needed from the fiscal side those measures have been taken," Mr Seth told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

On the measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Mr Seth said, "As far as the monetary authority is concerned, RBI is also taking decisions."

He said the recent spike in inflation has been partly due to high commodity prices.

"A number of challenges that the Indian economy is facing have got their origin outside the shores of India. And one of them is high commodity price," the official said.

India's retail inflation surged to 7.79 per cent in April due to a sharp jump in fuel and edible oil prices, as per the latest Government data.