Govt. will take more steps to check price rise: Mukherjee

NEW DELHI - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, expressing his concern over food inflation, which accelerated to a ten-week high in mid-December on rising prices of vegetables, on Thursday said the government will take more steps to check price rise.

“We are looking into it. So far as onion is concerned we have taken care of it… but the fluctuation in milk, fruit, vegetables and certain commodities have contributed to the inflation,” he told reporters here.

Mukherjee further pointed out that the rise was not because of the base effect, saying the price rise was real.

“This is an area of concern. Earlier, we thought that it is because of the base effect but it is not merely the base effect. There has been real increase in the prices of certain food items,” he said.

“We are waiting for the full monthly figure. Weekly variations are there. Whether these are corrected in the coming week that is to be seen,” he added.

Expressing hope that the overall inflation for the financial year would be around 6.5 per cent, Mukherjee said: “I am still holding that year-end inflation may be around 6.5 per cent.”

Soaring prices of onions, fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, meat and poultry sharply pushed food inflation based on wholesale prices to 14.44 percent for the week ended December 18. Inflation stood at 12.13 per cent for the week ended December 11.

Inflation rose for the fourth time in a row after easing for seven consecutive weeks. (ANI)