Inflation in India: Price hikes and hunger

As the monsoon season comes to an end, Indians look forward to the country’s 75th Independence Day. The 75-week countdown celebrations began on 12 March 2021. But with inflation rising, the atmosphere feels more sombre than celebratory.

At the local market in Srinagar, in the region of Jammu and Kashmir, we can see inflation in action. According to India’s consumer price index, inflation reached an eight-year high of 7.8 per cent in April 2022. The effects can be seen not only in the prices, but also in the faces of the market sellers. With fewer customers able to buy goods, times are tough.

Even getting from A to B is becoming a problem. In early May, there were 14 fuel price hikes in just 15 days. “My salary is 10,000 rupees (about €120), and around 1,500 rupees go on fuel costs every month,” says Ajay Yadav, a hotel employee in Jasola Delhi. “I find it extremely difficult to cover expenses.”

Since independence in 1947, India has seen fluctuating inflation rates. Rises in inflation have been caused by war, drought, fiscal policies and economic crises. The present rise in inflation is undoubtedly linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which came as much of the world was coming out of the pandemic. The war has led to increases in the price of food, energy and fertilizer — and this is forcing many people to change their diets.

Dipa Sinha, from the pan-India Right to Food Campaign, said: “Our field surveys show that most families have reduced consumption of pulses, oils, proteins and perishables. They are increasingly falling back on the federal government-run food subsidy scheme.”

In some households, there’s no choice but to go without certain things. Shruti Sharma, from Noida Delhi, has stopped buying biscuits and cooking oil to make ends meet. She also asked her children to stop going to restaurants or parties. “I’m the only earner in my three-person family. I know my limits,” she says.

As India enters its 75th year, celebration comes with melancholy, as people tighten their belts around diminishing waistlines — hunger is the symptom of inflation.