Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said food price rise was a “problem” and promised to take tackle it without affecting economic growth.
“Inflation in the last 18 months has become a problem. We stand committed to control inflation… By the end of this fiscal year, I hope the inflation will come down to 7 per cent,” Singh told the Lok Sabha. The latest food inflation figure has crossed 11.4 per cent and general inflation 8 per cent.
Next week’s budget could include measures to revamp the public distribution system and remove supply-side bottlenecks that contribute to the price rise.