Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), on Monday expressed concern over the sharp increase in Wholesale price index (WPI) leading to inflation.
Commenting on the WPI inflation for May 2014, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said, " the spike in inflation, which has gone up to a five month high of 6.01 per cent during May 2014, essentially on the back of food and fuel prices, is a cause for concern. The rise in food prices is attributed to the increase in prices of fruits, pulses and eggs, meat and fish."
"Containing the spiral of rising price pressures is of utmost importance to revive industrial production, especially as persistent inflation has caused the interest rate to follow a tight trajectory and has added to the cost of capital for industry. As a result, growth is impacted. Hence, tackling food inflation should assume centre stage in order to bring growth back to the economy," he added.
"To address the problem of rising food inflation, the government should consider a multi-pronged approach which includes implementation of model APMC Act, developing advanced supply chains, rationalizing input subsidies, effecting moderation in MSP, right-sizing buffer stock, effective management of non-cereal food items especially protein based, improving agri productivity and focus on crop diversification, augmenting investment in agri-infrastructure and encourage FDI in retail," he further added.
