Factory item prices must cool for lasting inflation relief | Prof. Vidya Mahambare writes for Live Mint

The article highlights that inflation drivers are typically cost-push factors or supply shocks that temporarily result in high or low price-rise in specific items. If a supply shock is positive, say an improvement in technology or an increase in low-cost imports, then it caps the price rise for that commodity. If a supply shock is negative, such as an uneven and inadequate monsoon for cultivated food, it will result in temporary high inflation in affected articles.

Food and fuel inflation tend to be volatile in India and services inflation remains closer to our inflation target. Only a less rapid rise in the prices of manufactured items can sustainably keep this pressure on overall retail inflation in check.