Controlling high food inflation: The world is on a wing and a prayer

An IMF paper sheds light on the issue of persistently high global food inflation, and the prognosis is not comforting

The next general election is due in 15 months, in April-May 2024. So inflation is a major worry for the Modi government, and it won't want to take any chances.

Food inflation is of particular concern because it's the one thing that annoys the voter enough to vote out governments. The most important reason the Congress lost so badly in 2014, losing as many as 165 out of 209 seats, was the 65 per cent increase in food prices after 2011.

Currently, India's official number for food inflation is about 7 per cent. But in public perception, it is probably