Worst of food crisis over, PM tells CMs

Feb. 6: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the worst is over and food prices would stabilise soon even as the Centre decided to set up a committee of chief ministers and Union ministers to suggest steps to bring down prices of food items.

“I believe the worst is over as far as food inflation is concerned. With good crop prospects, remunerative procurement prices in place and Indian prices being broadly in line with international prices, I am confident that we will soon be able to stabilise food prices,” Dr Manmohan Singh said while addressing the Conference of Chief Ministers on Prices of Essential Commodities on Saturday.

The PM asked the states to take action against hoarders using the power available to them under the Essential Commodities Act to prevent creation of artificial scarcities. Dr Singh also asked the states to ensure that food released by the Centre quickly reaches the targeted beneficiaries.

“I think our distribution system is hopelessly outdated, with the exception of a few states, and it needs a complete overhaul. The state governments should give focused attention to developing market intervention mechanisms which can act as a supplement to the public distribution system,” said the PM. Dr Singh assured that there are adequate stocks of rice and wheat to maintain food security. “The Rabi prospects are very encouraging. Post-monsoon rains have been good. All this augurs well for our ability to stabilise food prices at a reasonable level,” said the PM.

He urged the CMs to introspect why more attention is not being paid to highly cost-effective means of raising productivity and production. “Agriculture is a state subject. I urge the chief ministers to strengthen and modernise the agricultural extension services,” the PM said.

Dr Singh added that the government had earlier intervened through the open market sale scheme under which 30 lakh tonnes of food grains have been allocated to state governments for sale to retail consumers.