The finance ministry expects the inflation to be less than 5.0 per cent in this fiscal after it was restricted at an average 5.5 per cent during 2003-04.
"India is a very inflation-averse country. Whichever party comes to power, I will be surprised if the inflation is above 5.0 per cent," chief economic advisor Ashok Lahiri told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday.
He said the point-to-point inflation ended the last fiscal at about 4.3 per cent but the average ticked to around 5.5 per cent.
Lahiri dodged questions on whether inflation will shoot up after the elections, due to rising oil prices in international markets in recent times.
The low inflation in India was despite the rise in commodity prices worldwide.
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had earlier said that the inflation would end the fiscal at 4.0-4.5 per cent.
Though inflation hovered around 6.0 per cent in January and February, it came down sharply in March to end the fiscal year at 4.3 per cent.
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