A day after banning futures trade in four farm commodities and
persuading steel producers to slash prices, the govt said more
measures were in the offing to curb inflation, which should ease in 8
weeks.
"Government is not helpless and has means to ensure prices are brought
down. More measures both administrative and fiscal are in the offing
to control inflation," Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar
told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.
He said iron ore, steel and cement would continue to remain under the
government scanner.
He said a series of calibrated measures would ensure that inflation is
brought down by at least one percentage point in the next two months.
Prices of wheat, rice and edible oils have already come down between
1st March and 6th May, Kumar said.
Wheat prices have declined by 1.6 percent, wheat by 9.1 percent and
edible oil by over 18 percent, he said.
The government on Wednesday suspended futures trading in gram, refined
soya, potato and rubber for four months a move aimed at arresting
speculation-driven price rise to cool inflation that is over 7.5
percent now.
Besides, steel producers announced cut in prices by up to Rs 4,000 a
ton after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.
Kumar said if the voluntary measures fail to yield results, "the
government has administrative options which will definitely bring down
prices".
"All energies of the government are being focused on very
comprehensive and calibrated steps to attack each factor that
contributes to inflation from all angels," he said.
A favourable monsoon and harvest would further ease the pressure on
prices of food grains, he added.
He said food prices in India are below the global level and the
government has not passed the burden of high prices of imported food
items to consumers, but "absorbed" it.
On the basis of extrapolation of prices, it has been observed that
rates of pulses, edible oils and cement have declined between 1st
March and 6th May, 2008.
While price of pulses have seen a 7.69 percent decline, that of edible
oils have dropped by 18.93 percent and cement by 2.91 percent.
Edible oil prices are likely to decline further by five percent in
view of large imports expected by mid-May, he said.
Price of iron and steel has, however, seen a 6.6 percent increase to
Rs 29,898 on 6th May from Rs 24,295 on 1st March.
"The Indian Bureau of Mines do not expect prices to come down but stay
at the new level for couple of months," he said.
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