Pranab, Pawar confident prices would ease soon

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI)Even as inflation breached Reserve
Bank of India's (RBI) projection of 8.5 per cent, both Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Agriculture Minister Sharad
Pawar Wednesday exuded confidence that prices in India will
ease in the next couple of months.
Mukherjee asserted that steps taken to augment supply
would yield results soon, while Pawar hoped good prospects of
rabi (winter) crops like wheat would help ease prices.
"We have taken adequate measures on the supply side,
which will take some time to have the pressing impact on
rising prices particularly of essential commodities. I do hope
that over a period of few months, it will be possible to have
the moderate rate of inflation," Mukherjee said.
Speaking to reporters separately on the sidelines of a
function, Pawar said, "We have to admit prices of important
items like rice, wheat, pulses and sugar are showing declining
trends...The situation will change after March-end."
Pawar's confidence is based on good prospects of rabi
crops, wheat and pulses, which are due for harvest from April.
He said the crop condition of wheat and pulses is good so far
and the country may harvest more wheat than last year's record
production of 80.68 million tonnes.
While Mukherjee said high inflation is disturbing, Pawar
said inflation is high because the current price is compared
with the low rates in the year-ago period.
"I am afraid...8.5 per cent wholesale price index rise
is disturbing," Mukherjee said. Inflation rose to over a
13-month high of 8.56 per cent in January. Experts, however
believe it may touch 10 per cent by this fiscal-end.
Though Pawar said food inflation is high (17.94 per cent
for January 30) because of low base effect, last year it was
not that low and stood at 10.98 per cent.
RBI has projected overall inflation to reach 8.5 per
cent by this fiscal-end. However, the rate or price rise
already breached that estimate in January at 8.56 per cent.
Earlier this month Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
addressing chief ministers had said that "worst is over as far
as food inflation is concerned. I am confident that we will
soon be able to stabilise food prices."
Meanwhile, the government had already made an ad-hoc
allocation of 10 kg of foodgrains each to all ration card
holders in January and February over and above the existing
quota, among other steps, to insulate inflation from hurting
the common man. PTI LUX
DDC