Modi backs new CPI target in Independence Day speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the monsoon session in New Delhi, India, July 18, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/Files·Reuters· (Reuters)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his backing to a new inflation target in a major speech on Monday, saying his government had brought down consumer price growth from double digits under the last government. Delivering his third Independence Day address, Modi backed the 4 percent inflation target, within a range of 2 percentage points either way, that had been agreed with outgoing Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan. The government formally "notified" the medium-term inflation target just before Rajan held his final policy meeting on Aug. 9. Figures last Friday showed inflation nudging over 6 percent, outside the target range. (Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Nidhi Verma)

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