Much to the chagrin of the government, unabated rising prices of vegetables, food articles and steel pushed the inflation to a 40 month high of 7.41 per cent, casting a shadow on economic growth.

Growing for the eighth consecutive week, inflation, based on wholesale price index, rose by 0.41 per cent in the week ended March 29 from 7 per cent in the previous week, a development that could lead to tightening of the monetary policy likely to be announced this month by RBI.

Inflation, which was 6.54 per cent a year-ago, last touched 7.76 per cent during the week ended November 6, 2004.

The common man was affected most by the surging prices of vegetables that showed an increase of 4.1 per cent during the week, while spices and pluses became dearer by 1.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively in the wholesale market.

Price rise in these commodities would be much higher in the retail market going by the traditional difference in WPI and consumer price index.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday admitted that high food prices were making it difficult to manage inflation but ruled out any "blind controls".

To make things difficult for the economy, steel, alloys, and other metals led the rising prices in the industrial sector.

While steel prices shot up by 5.6 per cent, basic metals became dearer by about five per cent during the week even as the government went into a tizzy to find solutions through a slew of fiscal measures and supply side management.

Meanwhile, the BJP said that the high rate of inflation reflected the total failure of the UPA government's four years in office.

"The all time 7.4 per cent inflation marked the end of the UPA government and it reflects the total failure of the economic policies of its four year long governance," said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said. He said the common man has been left "bleeding" by the "brutalities" of the UPA government.

"Economic brutalities unleashed by the UPA government headed by a economist PM has left the 'Aam Admi' bleeding," he added.

• Inflation, the silent killer!