The notional imperative
India's current phase of economic growth has highlighted both the disparities in benefits of growth as well as enhanced capacity of the government to do more for those who may not have benefited directly from growth. If the current bout of inflation is on account of faster growth in demand as compared to growth in production capacity, then we need to be more attentive to the needs of those who may be priced out of the market. A few indices such as the consumer price index for agricultural labour do tell us how the cost of living for the rural poor may be affected by inflation.