Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that inflation has increased due to seasonal problems related to supply and it is being continuously monitored along with efforts to bring down the prices of essential goods.
Sitharaman also mentioned the efforts to bring down the price of fuel and natural gas. She said that these are imported in the country. Due to Covid and Russia-Ukraine war, fuel prices are high in the global markets.
Finance Minister said, “The Prime Minister had directed us in November 2021 to cut the excise duty on fuel itself. Due to this an announcement was made during Diwali. After that in June, 2022 again we cut the excise duty. Due to all these reasons, the price of fuel softened to some extent.
Responding to questions about inflation and measures to bring it down, the finance minister said, “But when we talk about fuel or natural gas, we need to understand one thing. These products are imported and especially due to the Kovid epidemic and the subsequent Russia-Ukraine war, the prices have increased and despite this the imports are going on. At the center level, we have cut excise duty to bring down its price.
She said that the Group of Ministers keeps an eye on essential goods and their prices. Additional stock was issued as per the situation. Sitharaman said that when the price of rice increased, we released rice from the buffer stock.
The central government is continuously taking steps to bring down the prices. This is the reason that consumer price index based inflation has come down from 6 per cent to 5.8 per cent. Inflation has increased due to supply-related problems at seasonal level, which is being continuously monitored and measures are being taken to bring it down.
