indias annual inflation softened in july but price growth remained above the central banks target the consumer price index rose 67 on year in july after a 70 increase in june preliminary government data showed friday economists expected consumer prices to rise 67 according to a consensus provided by factset the urban consumerprice index rose 65 in july compared with the same period a year earlier while the rural reading increased 68 the data showed on august 5 the reserve bank of india raised its policy repo rate by 50 basis points to 54 to tame inflation which is above the central banks target range of 2 to 6 the rbi expects inflation to average 67 in the fiscal year that began in april and to stay above its target in the second and third quarters