The all-India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers (CPI-AL and CPI-RL) saw an increase of eight points in May mainly due to rise in prices of food products such as wheat atta, meat, goat, fish fresh, mustard oil, groundnut oil, pulses, vegetables and fruits. 1049 and 1057 are the new numbers respectively, for CPI-AL and CPI-RL.

CPI-AL recorded an increase of 1 to 17 points in 18 States and a decrease of 2 and 3 points in Jammu & Kashmir and Tripura States, respectively.

“Tamil Nadu with 1247 points topped the index table, whereas Himachal Pradesh State with 815 points stood at the bottom,” the Labour Ministry said in a statement.

CPI-RL recorded an increase of 1 to 14 points in 18 States and a decrease of 2 points each in Tamil Nadu and Tripura States. “Tamil Nadu with 1231 points topped the index table whereas Bihar with 855 points stood at the bottom,” the Centre added.

Maharashtra recorded maximum increase in the CPI-AL, and for CPI-RL, both Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir topped the chart with an increase of 14 points.

The maximum decrease in the CPI-AL was recorded in Tripura (-3 points) and Tamil Nadu and Tripura recorded maximum fall of -2 points in CPI-RL due to fall in the prices of rice, onion, fish fresh, chillies green, turmeric etc.

Inflation

The Ministry added that point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL and CPI-RL stood at 2.94 per cent and 3.12 per cent in May 2021 compared to 2.66 per cent and 2.94 per cent respectively, in April, 2021 and 8.40 per cent and 8.12 per cent respectively, during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Speaking about the latest index, Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said the increase in CPI-AL and RL will have a positive impact on the income of the workers engaged in agricultural and rural sector by way of increased wages.

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