Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday inflation was largely under control despite soaring prices of crude oil and food commodities. "We have managed to keep inflation under control in the face of many difficulties," Singh told a party plenary in New Delhi, the first in nearly two years.
Singh underscored that the international price of crude oil had jumped to nearly $100 per barrel from $35 since the Congress-led government took power three-and-a-half years ago. India imports 70 percent of its crude oil needs.
"Global prices of food grains, pulses and edible oil have seen a sharp rise. Our endeavour has been to shield the poor and vulnerable sections from the effect of this rise," he said. "We have been quite successful in this regard," he added. "The Wholesale Price Index is rising by around 3-4 percent, which is the lowest in the last 20 years."
"I am aware that many of you are concerned about the prices of certain essential commodities. We must keep in mind that global prices of food commodities have seen a rapid rise for a variety of factors," Singh said. "We do not have any control over these factors," he added. "However, it will be our constant effort to ensure that essential food items are available to the poor and needy at a reasonable cost," he said.
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