ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s monthly inflation dropped to 1.5 percent in February on a year-on-year basis, the country’s statistics bureau said on Monday, which was the lowest in more than nine years.
The consumer price index (CPI) inflation stood at 2.4 percent in the month of January and 23.1 percent in Feb. 2024, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
On a month-on-month basis, it decreased by 0.8 percent in February as compared to an increase of 0.2 percent in the previous month and no change in February 2024. This was down from a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023.
“The lowest inflation last time was nine years and five months ago in September 2015, when it reached 1.3 percent,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at a press conference on Monday, hailing a decline in policy rate to 12 percent.
The commodities whose prices increased from corresponding month of the previous year included pulses, potatoes, fresh fruits, butter, honey, milk powder, meat, vegetable, ghee, fish, milk products, cooking oil and sugar, according to the PBS.
The items whose prices decreased in Feb. included onions, tomatoes, wheat flour, tea, eggs, rice, bakery and confectionary items, and chicken.
Pakistan’s February inflation drops to more than nine-year low at 1.5 percent
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Pakistan’s February inflation drops to more than nine-year low at 1.5 percent
- This is down from a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023
- Consumer price index stood at 2.4 percent in Jan. and 23.1 percent in Feb. 2024
Global ride-hailing company inDrive eyes expansion into Pakistan’s foodtech, health care sectors
- InDrive CEO Arsen Tomsky says company challenges unfair practices such as inflated rates, high commissions
- Says Pakistan among inDrive’s top ten markets worldwide, notes country’s large youthful population
ISLAMABAD: The chief executive officer of global ride-hailing company inDrive revealed this week that his organization was eyeing expanding into Pakistan’s foodtech and health care sectors, aiming to tap into the country’s massive young population.
The development takes place after inDrive announced earlier this month that it was entering Pakistan’s online grocery delivery market by launching a new service in the southern port city of Karachi. inDrive said it would launch the service by partnering with quick commerce platform Krave Mart.
In an interview with state-run Pakistan TV Digital on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, the company’s founder and CEO Arsen Tomsky said it enters countries where policies are stable and to challenge what he described as unfair practices such as inflated rates, high commissions and price monopolies.
“Step by step we will launch into new fields where we see significant injustice,” Tomsky said. “For example, we have started to think about health care. Also this year, we are expanding in foodtech, where we see again, a significant level of injustice.”
Tomsky noted that Pakistan is among the company’s top ten markets globally. He added that the South Asian country presented significant opportunities as it was home to over 250 million people, where a large percentage of the population was young.
“The market is absolutely booming and taking off,” he said. “I believe in the fantastic future of the country.”
According to inDrive’s website, it was founded in 2013 and incorporated in the US in 2018. inDrive says it is available in 888 cities across 48 countries.
The ride-hailing platform’s unique feature allows passengers and drivers to negotiate the fare directly. The company says that in 2022 and again in 2023, inDrive was the second most downloaded ride-hailing app worldwide based on Google Play and App Store data.
