New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance minister’s chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu held its meeting Friday to review the situation of inflation, which remains stubbornly high despite aggressive monetary tightening by the Reserve Bank of India.
Addressing the meeting, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia emphasised the need to curb subsidies to address the fiscal issues on a sustained basis.
Friday’s meeting, which is the fifth of the group, concentrated on macroeconomic demand management with focus on fiscal and monetary policy issues, according to an official statement.
The meeting assumes significance in view of the recent rise in the inflationary pressure, especially surge in the prices of food products.
According to the latest data released Thursday, food inflation soared 10.05 percent for the week ended Aug 20, the highest level in over five months.
The inter-ministerial group, which was set up in February on the direction of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has been entrusted to suggest measures to bring down inflation to a comfortable level.
The group has been entrusted with the task of studying and proposing policies pertaining to food article inflation and macro-economic demand management.
