Delhi inflation rate lower than other metros: Govt report

NEW DELHI: The inflation rate in Delhi remained substantially lower than in other metro cities and the national average last year, especially in the fuel and light group, according to a government report.

The report prepared by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Delhi government, however, showed that the inflation rate rose in the food & beverages and housing sectors.

The report assessed the Consumer Price Index (Industrial Workers IW) between Delhi and 14 other metros. These were Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Amritsar

and Lucknow.

The report said that during 2024-25, CPI (IW), Kolkata, recorded the highest increase (3.6 per cent) while it was (3.4 per cent) at the All India level, followed by Mumbai (3.0 per cent), Delhi (1.8 per cent), and no change was observed in the case of Chennai.

Among the selected cities assessed by the report, Delhi had the third lowest Consumer Price Index (IW) for the 2024 calendar year and the fifth lowest Consumer Price Index (IW) for the financial year 2024-25 out of the selected 15 major cities, while Lucknow and Chandigarh had the maximum Consumer

Price Index (IW).

A Consumer Price Index (CPI) is designed to measure changes over time in the general level of retail prices of selected goods and services that households purchase for consumption.

Delhi’s inflation ranged from 1.7 to 8 per cent between 2020 and 2024, with 2024 at 1.7 per cent versus 3.8 per cent nationally. Food rose 5.6 per cent, housing 3.1 per cent, fuel fell 20.1 per cent, and miscellaneous items saw 0.1 per cent increase.