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Inflation rates have been consistently over 9% for several months now. High prices of food and essential commodities have kept it at such high levels. Though the various measures by RBI have helped to moderate the inflation to a certain extent, it still hovers in an uncomfortable zone. Bringing down the inflation rate has been on top of the agenda for RBI, given that high inflation has severe effects on the common man.
Read on to find out how Inflation affects the common man.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India expanded 7.7 percent in the second quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter – the slowest growth rate in six quarters. Rating agencies like CRISIL as well as the IMF have revised down their GDP forecast for 2012 to 7.6% and 7.5% respectively. So, what’s the cause of this slowdown?
This has primarily been attributed to rising interest rates, high inflation and global unpredictability, created specifically by the economic woes of the developed world.  Even as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Asia’s second largest economy continues to hover below 8% for the second consecutive quarter, inflation and interest rates continue to rise. In fact The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised rates a dozen times since March 2010, thereby making it amply clear that controlling prices remains its priority. In order to control inflation, the RBI is compelled to hike interest rates, [...]

Every few months, Inflation becomes the bread and butter for newspapers and the media. Quite often it even leads to chaotic scenes in the parliament with the opposition causing a ruckus due to the high prices of everything and how it makes the common man suffer. We have all heard about inflation and have even felt its pinch on our pockets sometime or the other. But beyond its basic effect, inflation can also affect our investment in stock markets.
So, what exactly is inflation? Why is it caused and how does the Government control it? Above all how does it affect our investments and how can we protect ourselves from it?

India is a country known for its high saving rate. We are used to saving money but fail to realise that keeping our hard earned money in bank’s coffers is actually not giving us any returns. It is infact, destroying the value of our money! Unfortunately, not many of us realise the importance of investing our money when we start earning it! So, why is it so important to invest our money?