Various efforts are being made to reduce inflation. While on the one hand tomatoes are imported from Nepal and supplies are being sent to the market to reduce the prices of tomatoes. At the same time, to keep onion prices stable, the doors of godowns are being opened. Experts say that in the coming two weeks, the inflation of vegetables will skyrocket. The government is also following this assumption.
Even after that, the lines of concern are clearly visible on the forehead of the central government. The reason for this is crude oil. That too at a time when the country is importing cheap crude oil from Russia at a record level. By the way, still the prices of crude oil in the international market are less than $ 90 per barrel. An official of the Finance Ministry, on the condition of anonymity, said that there is no planning to reduce excise duty. The government is increasing investment on infra, and private sector capital investment is yet to come.
Is the government worried about crude oil?
On a question whether the government is worried about the recent spurt in crude oil prices, the official said that crude oil prices are not included in the budget calculation as the government does not give subsidy to OMCs. Therefore, fluctuations in crude oil prices have no bearing on the fiscal maths. Crude oil prices are currently running around $ 85 per barrel, while at the time of the budget it was $ 70-73 per barrel.
no worries up to $90
The official said that rising crude oil prices are a matter of concern, but they are still in the tolerable zone from the point of view of OMCs. There is no need for any policy adjustment right now. The calculation of the budget is on the right track. The official said that we are on the right track, oil is around 80-85 US dollars, till 90 US dollars we should not be worried. Beyond US $ 90, it has an impact on inflation and other things. The official denied any cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel and said that it is not being considered as of now. He said that we are not expecting any cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel.
Government is increasing capex
The official said the Centre's capex, which was 28 per cent of the budget estimate at the end of the June quarter, will reach 50 per cent by the end of September. In the budget for 2023-24, the government had increased the capex by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in the current financial year. The official further said that despite the 6 per cent rain deficit, kharif sowing is not likely to be affected due to the resilience of the agriculture sector. The government is taking steps to control inflation, including releasing stocks of wheat and rice from reserves, banning exports of rice and sugar, and allowing imports of pulses and oilseeds.
Several steps have been taken to reduce inflation.
In the media report, the official said that flexible trade policy has been adopted to keep the prices down. We must remember that due to the Ukraine war, food prices are very high at the global level and the supply of food grains has been affected and this is a global factor that Indians cannot stay away from. The official further said that we have taken steps to keep the country's population away from inflation and we are in a much better position than others.
Will inflation pressure reduce soon?
The official said that interventions have been made to bring down the prices of tomatoes and these steps will bear fruit in the coming months. Tomato is a seasonal crop and soon we will get another crop and the price pressure will reduce. The official said that this inflation has been seen from the high prices of vegetables. It is expected that the prices of vegetables will probably come down by next month.
Retail inflation reached a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, higher than 4.87 per cent in June. However, wholesale inflation was seen in minus for the fourth consecutive month in July. In July, annual retail inflation was 37.44 per cent in the vegetable basket, 21.63 per cent in spices, 13.27 per cent in pulses and products and 13 per cent in cereals and products.
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