New Delhi: Retail inflation declined to a four-month low of 5.22 per cent in December, mainly on account of easing of prices in the food basket, including vegetables — according to government data released on Monday — giving headroom to the Reserve Bank to reduce the key interest rate in upcoming monetary policy reviews.

The inflation-based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased for the second month in a row after it breached the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) upper tolerance level of 6 per cent in October.

The annual rate of inflation was 5.48 per cent in November and 5.69 per cent in the year-ago period.

“During the month of December 2024, significant decline in inflation is observed in vegetables, ‘pulses and products’, ‘sugar and confectionary’, ‘personal care and effects’, and cereals and products,” the National Statistics Office (NSO) said while releasing the CPI data.

The top five items showing highest year-on-year inflation in December 2024 were peas (89.12 per cent), potato (68.23 per cent), garlic (58.17 per cent), coconut oil (45.41 per cent), and cauliflower (39.42 per cent).

The key items having lowest year-on-year inflation in December were jeera, ginger, dry chillies, and LPG (excluding conveyance).

“The CPI (General) reached its lowest point during this period in July 2024. However, the CPI (General) and food inflation in December, 2024 is the lowest in the last four months,” NSO said.

Inflation in the food basket was at 8.39 per cent in December, down from 9.04 per cent in the preceding month and 9.53 per cent in December 2023.

The RBI, which has been tasked by the government to ensure inflation remains at 4 per cent (+/- 2 per cent), has kept the key short-term lending rate (repo) at 6.5 per cent since February 2023.

The Reserve Bank’s rate setting panel — Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) — is scheduled to meet in February.

Commenting on the data, Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist and Head — Research and Outreach at ICRA — said while the CPI inflation declined in December 2024 from 5.5 per cent in November 2024, the pace of the correction was narrower than expected.

In sequential terms, the dip was driven by food and beverages, even as the year-on-year inflation for fuel and light, and pan, tobacco and intoxicants recorded mild upticks, she said.

“With the headline inflation stuck stubbornly above 5 per cent, the probability of a rate cut in the February 2025 policy review has certainly receded. However, the considerable decline in vegetable prices that is underway could convince some MPC members to consider an early cut in the upcoming meeting, with a view to supporting growth,” Nayar said.

Paras Jasrai, Senior Economic Analyst at India Ratings and Research, said the February 2025 monetary policy would be happening at the outset of the Union Budget.

“The conviction of fiscal arithmetic would also be weighing closely on the monetary policy action. While the current data is positive from the monetary policy perspective, Ind-Ra believes that the monetary authority would want to wait for one more policy before undertaking any change on the rates front,” Jasrai said.

Akhil Mittal, Senior Fund Manager — Fixed Income, Tata Asset Management, said early price trend in January show vegetable inflation moderating and this could mean inflation falls below 5 per cent sooner and well within the RBI expected trajectory going forward.

“This could open up space for the RBI to support growth, which is estimated to have slowed down most since Covid-19. We believe the RBI to shift focus from inflation towards growth going forward. While currency volatility has complicated matters for RBI, we think that as things calm down globally, RBI could start easing cycle,” he added.

Last month, the RBI raised the inflation projection for the current fiscal year to 4.8 per cent from 4.5 per cent. It also said the lingering food price pressures are likely to keep headline inflation elevated in the December quarter.

The CPI-based headline inflation increased from an average of 3.6 per cent during July-August to 5.5 per cent in September and further to 6.2 per cent in October 2024.

According to the NSO data, inflation rate for rural and urban during December were 5.76 per cent and 4.58 per cent, respectively.

Highest inflation was in Chhattisgarh (7.63 per cent) and lowest in Delhi (2.51 per cent).

The price data are collected from selected 1,114 urban markets and 1,181 villages covering all states and UTs by NSO on a weekly roster.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin

Chennai: The Indus valley script remains an unsolved riddle for over a century, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said here on Sunday and announced a prize of US dollar 1 million to those who decipher it.

Inaugurating a 3-day international conference to mark the centenary of the discovery of the Indus civilisation, Stalin said,”We are still unable to clearly understand the script of the Indus valley civilsation that once flourished.”

Efforts are on to this day by scholars to solve the riddle and in order to encourage such efforts, a prize of US dollar 1 million will be provided to individuals or organisations that solves the riddle, he announced.

The Indus civilsation, one of the earliest, is reputed for its urban culture and its script has not been decrypted yet. The fading away of such a civilisation, and its context, also remains a riddle.

Delhi Chief minister Atishi, BJP’s Kalkaji candidate Ramesh Bidhuri

New Delhi: BJP’s Kalkaji candidate Ramesh Bidhuri on Sunday courted yet another controversy, targetting this time Delhi Chief minister Atishi over her surname.

Speaking at BJP’s ‘Parivartan Rally’ in Rohini that was later addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bidhuri said Atishi changed her surname from “Marlena” to “Singh”.

Atishi, who is the sitting MLA from Kalkaji seat, dropped her surname a while back.

“This Marlena (surname used earlier by Atishi) became Singh, changed name. Kejriwal swore over his children not to go with the corrupt Congress, Marlena changed father. Earlier she was Marlena, now she has become Singh. This is their character,” Bidhuri charged.

As the video of Bidhuri’s speech showed up on the internet, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal lashed at the BJP saying its leaders crossed all the limits of “shamelessness.”

“BJP leaders are hurling abuses at Delhi chief minister Atishi ji. Delhi people will not tolerate the insult of a woman chief minister. All the women in Delhi will take a revenge of this,” he said in a post on X.

The AAP in a statement said Bidhuri’s “abusive remarks” against a female chief minister exposed the BJP’s “anti-women” mindset.

“If he behaves this way now, imagine the treatment ordinary women would face if he mistakenly becomes an MLA,” said the ruling party in Delhi.

The party said Kejriwal’s promise of Rs 2,100 monthly allowance for the city’s women has rattled the BJP.

Delhi will teach the BJP and Ramesh Bidhuri a lesson by defeating him, the AAP asserted.

The elections for 70 member Delhi Assembly are due in February.

Palghar: A tremor of 3.7 magnitude jolted Maharashtra’s Palghar district early Monday morning, officials said.

There was no report of any casualty or property damage, they said.

The tremor was recorded at 4.35 am in Dahanu taluka, district disaster management cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said citing an official report.

People in Bordi, Dapchari and Talasari areas of the taluka felt the tremor early in the morning, he said.

The district has experienced occasional tremors in the past.

Bengaluru: An 8-month-old infant in Bengaluru has been confirmed to have contracted the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV). However, health authorities have assured that there is no need for panic.

HMPV is common in India, but it remains unclear if this case is linked to the mutated variant detected in China. The infant, with no travel history, was admitted to a private hospital for fever, where tests confirmed the presence of the virus.

Authorities are collecting data to assess if similar cases are present in other parts of the state. The Director of Health Services, Dr Atul Goel, recently stated that there is no significant increase in respiratory cases as per December 2024 data.

HMPV, first identified in 2001, is known to cause respiratory illnesses, particularly in children, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems. While there is no specific antiviral treatment for HMPV, precautionary measures like isolating symptomatic individuals and practising good hygiene can help curb its spread.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), is monitoring respiratory cases across the country in collaboration with international agencies.

The Supreme Court on Monday transferred to Karnataka High Court petitions of Amazon and Flipkart, challenging a Competition Commission of India order for a probe into the e-commerce giants for alleged malpractices.

A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said if pleadings in some of the transferred petitions were not completed, the judge seized of the matter would grant reasonable time to complete the pleadings.

“It will be appropriate if all the petitions which are the subject matter of this transfer petition are transferred for hearing to the High Court of Karnataka,” the bench said.

During the hearing, Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the apex court that, after filing of the present petition by fair trade regulator the Competition Commission of India (CCI), five pleas had been filed in different high courts.

The top court directed that these petitions be transferred to the High Court of Karnataka.

“If similar petitions are hereafter instituted in any other high court, the same shall be also covered by this order,” the bench said.

The apex court had earlier issued a notice on the plea filed by the CCI, which sought the transfer of the petitions filed by the e-commerce giants from the high courts to the top court or Delhi High Court.

In its plea before the top court, the CCI sought directions to transfer either to the Supreme Court or Delhi High Court the cases pending before the high courts of Allahabad, Madras, Telangana, Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, and Karnataka.

The fair trade regulator ordered the probe into Flipkart and Amazon following allegations of malpractices, including deep discounting and tie-ups with preferred sellers on their platforms.

The CCI’s probe order came after a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasang, whose members comprise many traders of smartphones and related accessories.

Amazon and Flipkart filed separate petitions in various high courts, challenging the CCI’s probe order.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is likely to announce his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party as early as Monday, news agency Reuters reported citing The Globe and Mail.

The report, based on information from three unnamed sources, suggests Trudeau could announce his plans to step down before a key national caucus meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the 53-year-old will leave immediately or continue as prime minister until a new leader is chosen.

A source in the report mentioned that the prime minister has discussed with finance minister Dominic LeBlanc whether he would be willing to step in as interim leader and prime minister. The report further stated that this would be unworkable if LeBlanc plans to run for the leadership.

Trudeau took over as Liberal leader in 2013 when the party was struggling and had fallen to third place in the House of Commons for the first time in its history.

Deir Al-Balah: Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, officials said Wednesday, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year.

One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has waged a major operation since early October. Gaza’s Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen other people were wounded.

Another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.

“Are you celebrating? Enjoy as we die. For a year and a half, we have been dying,” said a man carrying the body of a child in the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.

Israel’s military said Hamas group fired rockets at Israel from the Bureij area overnight and that its forces responded with a strike targeting a group. The military also issued evacuation orders for the area.

A third strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies.

The war began when Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. About 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the dead but does not say how many of those killed were members of the group.

The Israeli military says it only targets Hamas members and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 Hamas members, without providing evidence.

The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90 per cent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.

Hundreds of thousands live in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) at night. At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the Health Ministry.

Many displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rely on charity kitchens as their sole food provider amid restrictions on aid and skyrocketing prices. AP footage showed a long line of children waiting for rice, the only item served at the kitchen in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday.

“Some of those kitchens close because they don’t receive aid, and others distribute little amounts of food and its not enough,” said Umm Adham Shaheen, displaced from Gaza City.

American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has demanded a lasting truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu has vowed to keep fighting until “total victory.”

Bhopal: Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the shifting of some 377 tons of hazardous waste began from the defunct Union Carbide factory on Wednesday night for its disposal, an official said.

The toxic waste is being shifted in 12 sealed container trucks to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal.

“12 container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles which are expected to reach Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours,” said Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh.

He said around 100 people worked in 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste in trucks.

“They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes,” he added.

Highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues. It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 rebuked authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite directions from even the Supreme Court and set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a “state of inertia”.

The high court bench had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.

“If everything is found to be fine, the waste will be incinerated within three months. Otherwise, it might take up to nine months,” Singh told PTI on Wednesday morning.

Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the waste disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, Singh said.

The smoke from the incinerator will pass through special four-layer filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted, he added.

Once it is confirmed that no traces of toxic elements are left, the ash will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.

A team of experts under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board will carry out the process, Singh said.

Some local activists have claimed that 10 tons of Union Carbide waste was incinerated on a trial basis in Pithampur in 2015, after which the soil, underground water and water sources in surrounding villages became polluted.

But Singh rejected the claim, stating that the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after the report of the 2015 test and all the objections were examined.

There would be no reason to worry, he said.

A large number of people had on Sunday taken out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city which has a population of about 1.75 lakh.