When asked if the Indian economy is entering into a stage of 'stagflation', the Finance Minister said, "I am not willing to discuss as to where the economy stands. I am interested in working towards improving things."
Several economists have expressed concerns after the official data on Thursday showed that retail inflation soared to 5.54 per cent in November, a steep rise of 92 basis points from the inflation number of the previous month.
Stagflation, a combination of slow economic growth with rising inflation, is a phenomenon feared by several economists. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier said that India must watch out for increased risks of such an event occurring.
N.R. Bhanumurthy, Professor at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, told : "There appears to be a textbook case of stagflation, but the current rise is primarily owing to rise in food prices."
However, former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen said: "The recent rise in CPI figures is a short-term trend and I would not call it stagflation yet."
Sen highlighted the fact that core prices are still going down. "If you take away agriculture, it looks a deflation. I would be concerned if the rising food prices begin to spill over other sectors."
D.K Joshi, Chief Economist, Crisil, told that CPI numbers were not entirely unexpected.
"If you go to the market, you will realise that vegetable prices are indeed very high... That is the chief reason for the spike in inflation," Joshi said.
( With inputs from IANS )