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Mumbai: A panel of Indian government ministers will meet today to discuss more steps to contain soaring inflation, following recent measures to curb food and commodities prices, the Economic Times said on Sunday.
The Cabinet Committee on Prices, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has been convened after inflation hit a 14-month high in the middle of March, the paper said.
The schedule of the meeting could not be confirmed.
Inflation breached 5 per cent in late February, the first time since early June 2006, the level the central bank wanted to contain it near in the 2007/08 fiscal year that ends today.
Data on Friday showed annual inflation at 6.68 per cent in the 12 months to March 15, up from the previous week's 5.92 per cent.
Finance Secretary D. Subbarao said the data was "quite disturbing," according to the paper.
Policy steps
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Friday the government was trying to boost supplies of key commodities to check prices while Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said interest rates remained the most effective instrument to manage price pressures.
But deputy central bank governor Rakesh Mohan said the central bank needed to examine the price data carefully before it could reach any conclusion.
The central bank has kept its repo rate, through which it infuses funds into the banking system, at 7.75 per cent for the past 12 months, its highest rate since November 2002.
Nath said the government was considering a ban on all non-basmati rice exports and a government source said last week that the import duty on soyoil may be cut.
The government has taken many fiscal steps recently to curb price pressures.
Prices: Disturbing figures
Inflation breached 5 per cent in late February, the first time since early June 2006, the level the central bank wanted to contain it near in the 2007/08 fiscal year that ends today.
Data on Friday showed annual inflation at 6.68 per cent in the 12 months to March 15, up from the previous week's 5.92 per cent.
Finance Secretary D. Subbarao said the data was "quite disturbing," according to the Economic Times.
- Reuters
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