New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the government has broken the "back of back-breaking inflation" as it was able to bring the average rate of inflation down to 4.6 per cent.

While presenting the Interim Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Goyal said that the average rate of inflation between 2009-14 was 10.1 per cent and this had come down to 4.6 per cent under the NDA government.

In December 2018, the inflation rate further came down to just over 2 per cent, according to Goyal.

"Inflation is a hidden and unfair tax on the poor and the middle class. The average rate of inflation during 2009-14 was a back-breaking 10.1 per cent," the Minister said.

"In contrast, our government broke the back of back-breaking inflation. We brought
down average inflation to 4.6 per cent which is lower than the inflation during
the tenure of any other government."

He added that if the inflation had not been controlled, then "our families would have been spending around 35-40 per cent more today on basic necessities such as food, travel, consumer durables, housing".

--IANS rv/ksk/mr