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Montek Singh for more steps to hold price line

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

NEW DELHI: Priority should be given to taming inflation and the government could consider some more measures to hold the price line, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here on Tuesday.

Interacting with journalists on the sidelines of a function organised by Microsoft India, Dr. Ahluwalia said: “We are not at all happy with the rate of inflation. It should come down. [The] government can take more measures if needed …We should give priority to bring down inflationary expectations.”

The United Progressive Alliance government’s prime concern was to rein in inflation, which had soared to a 42-month high at 7.57 per cent for the week ended April 19 from 7.33 per cent in the earlier week despite a slew of fiscal and monetary measures, he said.

Although he did not specify any price control measure, Dr. Ahluwalia did not appear to favour a ban on futures trading as part of the government’s ongoing exercise to check the runaway increase in prices of essential commodities.

Asked if futures trading in food articles should be banned to ease the inflationary pressure, he said futures trading did not increase inflation according to an expert committee.

Dr. Ahluwalia’s views on futures trading in food articles come close on the heels of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s hint of a likely ban to check price rise.

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