PM Modi puts inflation goals at risk in a bid to meet farm pledges

Pulses and rice are among crops that are eligible for the minimum support price announced by Modi's administration

Inflation may be easing in India, as data on Thursday is set to show, but there are mounting risks.

At the top of the list is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to raise the prices of food crops to help distressed farmers, a key voter base.

His government is seeking to pay farmers at least 50 per cent more than the cost of their produce, boosting the retail prices of about a dozen monsoon-sown crops, due for harvest in October. Details of the initiative, which was first announced in the February budget, are expected soon.

The plan will help Modi fulfill