India’s flexible inflation targeting (FIT) regime, adopted in 2016 with a 4 per cent consumer price index (CPI) anchor and a ±2 per cent tolerance band, was designed for an economy dominated by kirana stores, cash payments, and periodic price surveys. A decade later, with rising prosperity, rapid decline in poverty, and increasing global integration, the structure of Indian consumption has probably evolved faster than the statistical system that measures it.

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