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Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the Center will make every possible effort to ensure that prices of essential food items, from onions to tomatoes to pulses, do not increase, especially during elections. He cited the Modi government's track record of controlling rates within days of any temporary hike.
PTI In an interview with PTI, Goyal, who heads the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs, said the Modi government will continue to take measures to ensure that there is no pressure on the domestic budget of “our women-power”.
Responding to a question about the government's strategy to ensure that there is no increase in food prices come general elections, the minister said, “We will be on top of this. And I can assure the people of India that this government cares about the women of India. He highlighted that the government has spent about Rs 28,000 crore in the Price Stabilization Fund over the last few years to support efforts to fight food inflation.
“We will continue to be there with our sisters and mothers and ensure that we do not stress… We are actively working to ensure that we honor our woman-power and respect that they have to There is a need to build a better house.” Budget,” Goyal stressed.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the election schedule soon and the Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in April-May.
The minister spoke in detail about various measures taken by the government to control prices of food items like onion, tomato and pulses in the last few years.
He said, “When the entire world was facing severe inflation, especially food inflation, and at never seen before levels, with some countries in the developed world showing 40-year high inflation, India was a bright spot in terms of inflation.” There was a place.”
Goyal said, during the UPA-era, inflation was high and food prices were at a standstill. “If you look at the story of India, even during the worst times, we were able to maintain our inflation at quite reasonable levels.” “We did not allow any product to move beyond a point. If we saw that a product was becoming expensive, often for reasons beyond our control, we took immediate action,” he said.
Citing the example of tomato prices rising at around the same time and due to rains in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, Goyal said the government immediately intervened and started purchasing tomatoes from other regions to increase supplies across the country.
“We did not let the price remain at this high level for more than a few days. And as soon as government intervention happened, prices came back to normal levels,” he said.
The Food and Consumer Minister said similar efforts were made when prices of onions and pulses increased beyond reasonable levels.
“Even at nominal increases, the government is now taking proactive steps,” he said.
To provide relief to the common man, Goyal highlighted that the Center has introduced Bharat chana dal at Rs 60 per kg; Bharat atta (wheat flour) is being sold at Rs 27.50 per kg and Bharat rice at Rs 29 per kg for sale in the open market.
These steps have had a “beneficial impact” on prices, he said.
“Food inflation has been kept under control and our overall inflation is also within the RBI range,” he said.
Referring to the government's latest estimate of lower onion production in 2023-24, he said, “I can assure you that the government will be proactive in its effort.”
The government has 18,000 outlets of NCCF, NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar and retail stores of state governments for the sale of subsidized commodities like pulses, flour and rice.
Apart from this, the government has also included e-commerce platforms for the sale of these goods, he said.
