Rising inflation is making Indians increasingly hopeless about their future.
Seven in 10 households have experienced a more than 10% increase in their monthly expenses in the past three months, with an average increase of over 15%, according to a survey by community platform LocalCircles.
Retail inflation in India touched an eight-year high of 7.79% in April.
The survey was based on 23,500 responses from over 12,000 households located across 323 districts. It also stated that around 55% of the households expect their expenses to rise by another 10% in the next three months owing to increasing oil prices.
The findings have come amid a patchy power supply in the country due to a coal crisis and heatwaves in the country.
“Given the geopolitical situation, the constrained supplies of several commodities, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the overall condition of the economy, 55% of Indian households surveyed anticipate their monthly expenses to rise by over 10% in the next three months,” the Local Circles report said.
It suggested that a reduction in prices of petrol and diesel could curb household spending considerably.
“The central and state governments must evaluate how relief equivalent to at least Rs 10 per litre can be given with a combination of taxes such that the negative impact of rising fuel prices on household budgets can be reduced to a certain extent,” it said.
This article first appeared on Quartz.