**Executive Summary:**
This document is the Finance Minister's response to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 17, raised on July 21, 2025, regarding the impact of rising inflation. It details the government's measures to control inflation, generate employment, and improve household incomes. These measures have resulted in a decline in both inflation and unemployment rates.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Inflation Control Measures:**
* Augmentation of buffer stocks for essential food items.
* Strategic sales of procured grains in the open market.
* Facilitation of imports and export curbs during periods of short supply.
* Implementation of stock limits to increase the supply of select commodities.
* Retail sales of select food items under the Bharat brand at subsidised rates.
* Free distribution of food grains to approximately 81 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act.
* Exemption of annual incomes up to ₹12 lakh (₹12.75 lakh for salaried individuals with standard deduction) from income tax.
* **Inflation Rate:**
* Average retail inflation declined from 5.4% in 2023-24 to 4.6% in 2024-25.
* CPI declined to an average of 2.7% in the first quarter of 2025-26, ending at 2.1% in June 2025.
* Food inflation reached -1.06% in June 2025.
* **Employment Generation Programs:**
* Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme.
* Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana.
* Employment Linked Incentives to industries.
* National Urban-Rural Livelihoods Missions.
* Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
* Kaushal Vikas Yojanas.
* **Rural Prosperity and Resilience Programme:**
* Announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 to address underemployment in agriculture through skilling, investment, and technology.
* Focuses on women, youth, and marginal farmers.
* **Unemployment Rate:**
* The all-India annual unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 years and above declined from 6% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24.
**Impact Analysis:**
* **Poor and Low-Income Households:**
* *Impact:* Benefit from free food grains, subsidised food items, and increased disposable income due to tax exemptions.
* *Action Required:* Avail of the benefits under the National Food Security Act and other relevant schemes.
* **Youth:**
* *Impact:* Benefit from employment generation and skill development programs, and the Rural Prosperity and Resilience Programme.
* *Action Required:* Participate in skill development programs and seek employment opportunities through the various government initiatives.
* **Marginal Farmers:**
* *Impact:* Addressed by the Rural Prosperity and Resilience programme.
* *Action Required:* Engage with the Rural Prosperity and Resilience programme for support through skilling, investment, and technology.
* **Salaried Individuals:**
* *Impact:* Benefit from increased disposable income due to tax exemptions.
* *Action Required:* Review income tax liabilities, considering the exemption of annual incomes up to ₹12.75 lakh with standard deduction.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Finance: A department of the Government of India responsible for financial matters.
Department of Economic Affairs: A department within the Ministry of Finance.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India, where the question regarding inflation was raised.
Nirmala Sitharaman: The Finance Minister who answered the question in the Lok Sabha.
National Food Security Act: An act to provide subsidized food grains to a large section of the Indian population.
Consumer Price Index CPI: A measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a basket of consumer goods and services.
Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme: An employment generation program.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: A scheme to enhance livelihood security of households in rural areas of India by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. *17
TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2025/ Ashadha 30, 1947 (Saka)
IMPACT OF RISING INFLATION
*17. SHRI ZIA UR REHMAN:
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the impact of rising inflation on
employment levels and household incomes, particularly among the poor and youth;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the measures taken by the Government to control inflation and generate sustainable
employment opportunities across sectors?
ANSWER
THE FINANCE MINISTER
(SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)
(a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO THE LOK SABHA STARRED
QUESTION NO.17 RAISED BY SHRI ZIA UR REHMAN FOR 21st JULY, 2025 ON
“IMPACT OF RISING INFLATION”
(a) to (c): The Government has undertaken a series of measures to control inflation, while
fostering sustainable employment and improving household incomes, particularly among the
poor and the youth. These include, inter alia, the augmentation of buffer stocks for essential
food items, strategic sales of procured grains in the open market, facilitation of imports and
export curbs during periods of short supply, implementation of stock limits to push more
supplies of select commodities into the market, retail sales of select food items under the
Bharat brand at subsidised rates, and above all, distribution of food grains free of cost to
around 81 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act and increasing the
disposable income of individuals by exempting annual incomes up to ₹12 lakh (and ₹12.75
lakh for salaried individuals with standard deduction) from income tax. As a consequence of
various measures, average retail inflation rate (year on year) measured by the Consumer Price
Index (CPI) declined from 5.4 per cent in 2023-24 to 4.6 per cent in 2024-25, the lowest in
the last 6 years. Furthermore, CPI declined to an average of 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of
2025–26, ending the quarter at 2.1 per cent in June 2025. The deceleration in food inflation
continued through Q1 of 2025-26 and reached a negative territory with (-) 1.06 per cent in
June 2025, lowest after January 2019.
In addition to inflation control measures, various steps have been taken to expand job
opportunities through various employment generation and skill development programs such
as Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar
Yojana, Employment Linked Incentives to industries, National Urban/Rural Livelihoods
Missions, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Kaushal Vikas
Yojanas etc. Further, ‘Rural Prosperity and Resilience’ programme was announced in the
Union Budget 2025-26 to address underemployment in agriculture through skilling,
investment and technology, focusing on women, youth, marginal farmers etc. Consequent to
various measures, the all-India annual unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 years and
above (as per usual status) declined from 6 per cent in 2017–18 to 3.2 per cent in 2023–24.
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