NEW DELHI, APR 21 :
Though food inflation has come down from double digits, it is still a cause of concern, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday.
“During the past year and a half, persistent inflation, especially in the food sector, has become a cause for concern,” he said at the inauguration of the Civil Services Day here.
India’s food inflation nudged up after three successive weeks of decline to 8.74 per cent for the week ended April 9.
“Although the situation has improved in recent months, and food inflation has come down to single digit levels, the long term solution lies in increased production and productivity in the agriculture sector,” Manmohan Singh told bureaucrats of the country.
“The needs of a growing and increasingly more prosperous population can only be met by enhanced production of a diversified basket of agricultural products,” Manmohan Singh added.
Though the Reserve Bank of India has hiked its short-term lending and borrowing rates by 25 basis points each for the eighth time in 15 months, the effect on rising prices has not been as desired by the government.
According to latest figures, the annual rate of inflation too had shown an increase, rising to 8.98 per cent in March from 8.31 percent the month before, way above the target of 8 per cent set by the central bank.
“Our consistent policy has been to control inflation without hurting growth,” Manmohan Singh said.
“The civil services have a major role to play in achieving a higher rate of growth in agriculture sector.
At the state level, some of the brightest officers should be appointed to agricultural commissioners and steps should be taken to upgrade extension services.”
Food inflation up at 8.74%
NEW DELHI, APR 21 (IANS): India’s food inflation nudged up after three successive weeks of decline to 8.74 per cent for the week ended April 9 compared to 8.28 per cent recorded in the previous week as fruits, meat and poultry products became costlier, official data showed on Thursday.
Limited data on the wholesale price index released by the commerce and industry ministry also showed a rise in the index for primary articles, from 11.4 per cent in the week before to 11.96 per cent for the week under review.
The fuel index moved up slightly to 13.05 per cent as against 12.97 per cent in the previous week.
The following are the yearly rise and fall in prices of some main commodities that form the sub-index for food articles:
Onions: 8.28per cent
Vegetables: 1.53per cent
Fruits: 25.15per cent
Potatoes: 1.21per cent
Milk: 4.05per cent
Eggs, meat, fish: 14.96per cent
Cereals: 4.48per cent
Rice: 2.08per cent
Wheat: 1.31per cent
Pulses: (-) 5.67per cent