Prices soar but ‘inflation’ related queries witness dip in the online space
Bangalore, India, January 14, 2015: With the spiralling cost of living, ‘inflation’ has catapulted into a buzz word for people affected its repercussions, thanks to the soaring prices around essential commodities across the country. According to a latest search trends analysis by Google, “Inflation” which saw tremendous search interest during the past few years not only saw a decline in search interest this year but was also the lowest in terms of online search interest.
Even as continuous rate cuts in crude oil prices offered respite the government, bad weather condition coupled with unexpected rain and dense fog triggered a sudden rise in wholesale prices of vegetables.
Searches around inflation peaked around mid-August to end-October in 2013 and but the trends reflect a dip in interest during the same period in 2014. The recent change of guard at the Centre may have ensured the interest remains ignited around the market price war; however, the government perceptually managed to address the issue which consequently indicated a decline in the related searches in the past few weeks.
Talking specifically about the regional interest around inflation related queries, Uttar Pradesh lead the states with maximum searches followed by Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat contributing significantly to the overall searches. Year on year analysis indicates that 2010 had the highest search interest witnessing a slight dip in 2011 with people moving to Google search to enhance their understanding and also to keep tab on the latest development around the issue of price rise and inflation.
Bank interest rates are also very much affected by the rise and fall of inflation. Searches around ‘Repo rate’ decided by the Reserve bank of India are also an important indicator of the impact/ concern people perceive at a certain time interval with rising prices and inflation. With rising inflation in 2013, ‘Repo rate’ peaked on Google search during September while surprising interest in the current fiscal.
Now all eyes are on the budget session where the Modi government will present its first full year budget to bring the economy back on track.
