New Delhi [India]: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday released the Annual Report of the Price Index for Delhi prepared by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics for the Financial Year 2020-21. On the occasion, Sisodia said, “In the Financial Year 2020-21, the rate of growth in average annual inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 5 per cent nationally while in Delhi this rate was only 3.0 per cent.” In a statement on this report, Manish Sisodia said that the Kejriwal Government is committed to the common man and always stands with him. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the inflation rate increased rapidly in the entire country, the Kejriwal Government did not allow an increase in inflation in Delhi. “The inflation rate increased sharply during COVID in the country and the prices of essential commodities increased. In Delhi, however, the rate of increase in inflation is much lower than that of the entire country even during this period,” the minister said. Sisodia said that in comparison to the five metro cities of the country, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, the increase in inflation was the lowest in Delhi. “In the financial year 2020-21, the inflation rate increased by 3 per cent in Delhi, while in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, the inflation rate increased by 4.1 per cent, 4.6 per cent, 4.4 per cent and 4 per cent respectively,” Sisodia added. He said that the increase in inflation in Delhi was 2 per cent less than the national rate. In the Financial Year 2020-21, an increase of 5 per cent was recorded in the inflation rate nationally. The Finance Minister said that the national inflation rate for food prices was 5.7 per cent in the year 2020-21. However, in Delhi, this rate was recorded at only 4.1 per cent, which is the lowest in the country. “The Housing Index of the Consumer Price Index saw an increase of 5.2 per cent in entire India in the financial year 2020-21, but in Delhi, this rate was only 3.9 per cent,” he said. He said, ”The Delhi Government makes efforts from time to time to control and stabilize the prices of commodities through market interventions.”
