I would, therefore, urge Dr. Barman and his team to monitor international developments carefully, take into account the country experiences and draw upon the expertise of the multilateral institutions in charting the further course of survey work in the RBI.
Recent wage developments have been moderate, and this trend is expected to continue for some time to come in view of the continued high level of unemployment in the euro area. If this is the case, and provided that one-off shocks to prices from other sources such as those seen in 2004 are not repeated, annual inflation rates should drop below 2% in 2005.