Government agonises on ways to curb rising prices

NEW DELHI - Consultations among senior ministers of the government on how to curb rising food prices continue Wednesday as a follow-up to the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.

That meeting ended with a few measures suggested, but none were announced.

“Ministers will hold more meetings today on the issue,” an official in the Prime Minister’s Office told IANS.

India’s food inflation has soared over 18 percent, led by onions which are available in most parts of the country at Rs.55-60 per kg.

This along with biting criticism from opposition parties resulted in the government now looking to reconsider some of its decisions related to food items like export of 5 lakh tonnes of sugar and increasing prices of wheat and rice sold through the public distribution system to above poverty line families.

According to the official, though consultations will continue among senior cabinet ministers there will not be any formal meeting Wednesday.

“After the consultations, the ministers will get back to the PM soon. The PM may hold one more meeting,” said the official.

The prime minister is also expected to meet with Reserve Bank of India Governor D.Subbarao Wednesday to discuss ways of curbing high inflation.

Meanwhile, opposition parties - from the Left Front to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - have scheduled a series of public rallies to highlight the price spike, particularly of essential food items.