Agencies
New Delhi, May 2:
Despite a slew of measures and precautionary steps taken by the government to curtail the spiralling inflation, efforts do not seem to be yielding concrete results. Making life difficult for the common man, inflation on Friday soared to 7.57 % - the highest in 42 months. The hike in the rate of inflation from 7.33% to the current one has largely been due to the climb by 0.3% in the Wholesale Price Index of essential commodities such as rice, milk, tea, vegetables and some manufactured products.
As per past week`s reports, the price of tea shot up by 17 percent and that of other food items like milk, rice, vegetables and mutton also became dearer.
Among other commodities, the prices of light diesel oil and furnace oil went up by 2 percent and by 1 percent respectively. In the manufactured products category, the prices of cast iron pipes jumped by 51 percent, pig iron by 8 percent and steel sheets by 2 percent.
After the government banned export of certain commodities like non-basmati rice and pulses and reduced customs duties on various other items to rein in inflation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to suck excess liquidity from the market with an aim to check inflation.
The price rise crisis has been giving nightmares to the UPA government and it is facing stiff opposition from top political parties.
The escalating prices of essential commodities have given the main opposition BJP ammo to corner the Manmohan Singh government. The issue is also likely to play a major role in the forthcoming elections. In view of this, the BJP today called for nationwide agitation to highlight the government`s repeated failure to ease inflation.
Inflation will be tamed: Chidambaram
Bangalore: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said inflation will be tamed and food prices will come down sooner than other prices.
"The inflation will be tamed; food prices will come down sooner than other prices," he said on the sidelines of a function here. The government, he said, has already procured 154 lakh tonnes of wheat and 230 lakh tonnes of rice.
Pointing out that the prices would come down, the minister said, "People need to have patience and have faith in the government".
Left blames govt
New Delhi: The Left parties, which have announced nationwide agitations on price rise later this month, on Friday blamed the government for failing to check the rising inflation graph and trashed the argument about price rise being a "global phenomenon". "The government is looking towards god... the rain god (for increasing agricultural production). The global factor argument is an excuse. You (government) are importing the global factor. "...If you have your own public distribution system which subsidises foodgrains and essential commodities that are purchased by the common people. By this, they will be insulated from the global factors," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said here.
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