Inflation in Feb: Retail inflation moderated from 5.1 per cent in February to a 5-month low of 4.85 per cent in March, the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed on Friday. The retail inflation in March was in line with analysts and economists' estimations of 4.9 per cent. This is for 54th consecutive week when retail inflation has breached RBI’s medium-term target of 4 per cent. 

The food inflation eased marginally by 8.52 per cent in March against 8.66 per cent in the previous month. The vegetable prices continued to witness higher inflation and stood at 28.34 per cent, followed by spice and egg prices. The Indian central bank's key interest rate was kept unchanged for a seventh straight policy meeting on Friday as growth in the economy is expected to remain robust while inflation stays above the 4 per cent target. The six-member monetary policy committee kept the main lending rate at 6.5 per cent, in line with expectations. The repo rate was raised by a total of 250 basis points between May 2022 and February 2023. 

"Robust growth prospects provide the policy space to remain focused on inflation and ensure its descent to the target of 4 per cent," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in his prepared statement. Monetary policy must remain actively disinflationary at this stage, Das said. Inflation was the "elephant in the room" for the Indian economy two years ago, Das said. "The elephant has now gone out for a walk and appears to be returning to the forest. We would like the elephant to return to the forest and remain there on a durable basis."