Govt hopes March end inflation at 6.7 pc

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday assured that government is committed to bring down inflation to acceptable levels and expressed hope that it will come down to 6-7 per cent by March end.

Tabling a statement on inflation in the lower house of the Parliament, Pranab Mukherjee said that a durable solution lies in improving agri productivity and strengthening of food supplies.

He also stressed on augmenting capacities in the manufacturing sector to keep pace with the growth in demand.

"...while there has been a steady improvement in the inflation situation in India, there are important tasks ahead to be undertaken to get the desired outcomes," Mukherjee said.

He attributed the rising prices to demand-supply mismatch, depreciating rupee, global commodity prices and easy monetary policy followed by some countries.

"...the government is committed to bring down inflation to more acceptable levels. I hope to see the March end inflation between 6 to 7 per cent", he said and sought suggestions from the members on how to tackle the issue.

Inflation has remained over 9 per cent since December 2010. The headline inflation measured on WPI was 9.7 per cent in October, while the rate of price in food segment for the week ended on 5^th November was 10.6 per cent.