The editorial, "The dilemma returns", ( July 15 ) dissects the recently-released numbers of Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) vis-à-vis food inflation, a major component of CPI. It raises a pertinent issue - the steep increase in prices of items constituting major sources of proteins, such as pulses, milk and meat. In a country where a majority of the people are vegetarians coupled with a shift towards vegetarianism, meat products cannot be promoted as a source of protein.
This brings us to the moot point: What have we done to increase the production and supply of pulses, the prices of which have been consistently rising over the last decade and and don't seem likely to decrease any time soon? Only a few countries produce pulses on a commercial scale.
The biggest consumers of pulses are Indians. So the government has to draw up a long-term strategy to ensure smooth supply at reasonable prices to the consumers.
Naresh Saxena New Delhi
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