New Delhi: Inflation may have dropped significantly from last year, but middle class people still find prices of goods and services to be high and growing beyond their comfort level, said Assocham on Sunday.
At the retail level, the inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has been very high close to 30 per cent for pulses with some of them reaching Rs 200 a kg, while spices which go into preparation of the curries have witnessed price rise of 9.2 per cent, said the industry chamber.
Assocham said that despite fuel prices coming down and moderate rise in wages, the cost of education and health services, the two critical areas of interest to the middle class has gone up, much higher than the headline number of CPI for September of 4.41 per cent. The CPI inflation for education was up close to 6 per cent and health 5.4 per cent for September, 2015, it said.
“With severe shortages of education and health facilities in the public sector, the middle class has to depend on the private sector schools, colleges and hospitals and their costs have become quite high,”: said the chamber
“While the annual increase in prices of these services may not show a huge rise, the base price of such facilities is so high that it is becoming increasingly difficult for a large number of people in the cities and small towns to afford them. Some of hospitals in Delhi charge as much as Rs 1 lakh a day,” said Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat.
Mr Rawat said that the public expenditure on health and education should be raised significantly both at the Central and state government level. The recent outbreak of dengue and swine flu show how the state funding has been inadequate for improving the overall health services along with hygienic facilities, he said.
