India’s inflation numbers might be better than official data suggests once the massive impact of a government food program is factored in, according to a report released Monday by Bloomberg Economics.  

“Our estimates show the RBI actually has nothing to explain — yet,” said the report, which found that inflation falls by an average of 1.5 percentage points in the 12 months through March 2021 when the free food program is accounted for. “By this more accurate measure, the RBI has been in breach of its inflation mandate only since April — not January.”