Nirmala Sitharaman acknowledges netizen’s request for relief to middle class. Check her response here

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on November 17, responded to a netizen requesting some relief for the middle class amid rising inflation and prices in the country.

Social media user Tushar Sharma wrote to Sitharaman in the replies to one of her posts on X (formerly known as Twitter), making a “heartfelt request”. He said: “@nsitharaman We deeply appreciate your efforts and contributions to the country, and you have our utmost admiration. I humbly request you to consider providing some relief for the middle class. I understand the immense challenges involved, but it’s just a heartfelt request.” (sic)

Sitharaman responded positively to the post, thanking Sharma for acknowledging the challenges involved and stating that the central government is a "responsive one".

“Thank you for your kind words and your understanding. I recognise and appreciate your concern. PM @narendramodi‘s government is a responsive government. Listens and attends to people’s voices. Thanks once again for your understanding. Your input is valuable,” Sitharaman said.

Wholesale Inflation At 4-month High

India's wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose to a four-month high of 2.36% in October due to rising food prices, showed the ministry of commerce and industry's provisional data on Thursday.

A Reuters poll of economists expected wholesale inflation to be around 2.2% in the month, up from 1.84% reported in September.

• The WPI, a proxy for producers' prices, has been positive since November 2023. A year ago, it stood at -0.26%.
• Food price inflation, a major contributor to the index, rose by 11.59% annually, compared to a 9.47% gain in September and 3.21% in August.
• Elevated food prices have also pushed India's retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), for the month to a 14-month high of 6.21%.
• The rise was led by vegetables and fruits, whose prices rose by 63.04% and 13.55% year-on-year, respectively.

• In comparison, cereal prices rose 7.9% in the month over last year. In September, they saw a rise of 8.1%.
• Prices of non-food articles declined 1.71% annually in the month, compared to a 1.64% decline in September.
• Fuel and power prices fell 5.79% annually in October, compared to a 4.05% annual decline in September.
• Crude petroleum and natural gas prices fell by 12.16% annually in October, against the 13.04% annual contraction reported last month.
• Manufactured products' prices rose 1.5% annually in October, compared to a 1% rise in the previous month.