The Hindu Business Line : Inflated worries

Sarala (73) is the widow of a senior defence officer. Her chief source of income is her late husband’s pension, which is proving increasingly inadequate.

“I make my monthly budgets with trepidation of late because I don’t know what I will have to cut back on. Over the past few months, my diet has become more austere, and I have cut back on nutritional requirements, such as my health bevera ge and fruits, just to cut costs.”

“I know I have to earn more if my daughter and I have to survive the steep increase in the prices of rice, dal and oil. But how much more can I work? There are only 24 hours to a day. We cannot afford two meals a day, so I’ve stopped eating at night and feed my daughter whatever little I can,” laments Thayamma (32), who works in five houses in Bangalore as a helper and still cannot make ends meet.

“There has been a 20 per cent increase in the price of medicines in the past few months and this is definitely hurting my budget as I am a diabetic and need daily medication,” says Pratibha (68), who lives with each of her three children in turns.

As the government tries to tame galloping inflation, near a 13-year high at 12.34 per cent, some of the worst sufferers include small and petty businesses, pensioners and wage earners.

The bigger worry is that inflation has left no area untouched. It is not just the luxuries that are getting further beyond reach but even the bare essentials have not been spared. There is anger, anxiety, helplessness and a fear for the future across all sections of society, as the rising prices are threatening people’s lives and livelihoods.

Nagaraj, assistant manager of a chain of chemist stores says, “Regulars who previously bought a month’s supply of their medication, now come in and buy just enough for a week or ten days. I wonder sometimes if they have cut down on their recommended daily dosages. This can have dangerous implications for diabetics and hypertension patients.”

Raju, who drives a three-wheeler says, “Fuel prices have increased, causing fares to rise steeply. Though I get more per km now, most of my regulars have stopped travelling by three-wheelers and commute by bus instead, so I end up earning less than before. Most of my reduced earnings now go towards buying fuel to run my vehicle and for maintenance. There is hardly anything left to take home.”

Nalini (45) is an IT professional and commutes to work by car every day. “Buses are not an option for me as the bus service in Bangalore is not efficient. Carpools are not an option either, as my colleagues and I have staggered work timings and coordination is difficult. But with the hike in petrol prices, I have to cut down elsewhere… invariably on the little extras we used to enjoy at home, like occasional eat-outs,” she says.

Even two pay packets are nearly not enough in these tough times. Savita Shah says, “Despite double incomes, my husband and I are not able to save anymore. There is no money left after the month’s expenses have been met. If this trend continues, we would also have to dip into our savings and then what?”

Even as the general populace groans under the weight of inflationary numbers, experts such as Dr R.S. Deshpande, Professor and Head, Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Centre Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), strike a note of caution: “Inflation is like a thermometer which has to be shaken to pull the mercury down. This situation has to be managed more from the supply side. Agricultural production has to be increased; the supply position of essential commodities has to improve. We are, however, in for a long haul and will not see too much relief for some time to come.”

In a strange dichotomy however, shopping malls have never been busier and goods like mobile telephones and computers are selling at a feverish pace. A recent fall in gold prices had such huge numbers of buyers queuing up for the yellow metal that many retailers ran out of jewellery! This proves that a lot of wealth is concentrated in a few hands, which are left untouched by rising inflation.

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