Prices will come down soon: PM Manmohan Singh

New Delhi, Mar 8: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed his government's determination to rein in runaway inflation, and announced that the Centre would soon convene a meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) to devise strategies in consultation with states to check agricultural stagnation.

Replying in both Houses of Parliament to the motion of thanks on the President's Address, Dr Singh said his government was committed to bringing inflationary trends under control without curbing the ''animal instincts of our entrepreneurs and industrialists.'' Signalling the UPA government's resolve to give a massive impetus to the agricultural economy ''which has not performed up to mark'', Dr Singh said India was lucky that inflation had not become an ''accumulated problem as in some Latin American and African countries.'' Later, the two Houses adopted the motion of thanks.

In his near-identical reply in the two Houses, the Prime Minister said the measures taken by the Centre and the RBI ''will have the desired effect'' in controlling the spiralling inflation.

Admitting that the government was finding it difficult to check the rising prices in the wake of the spurt in the costs of oil seeds, pulses and petroleum products in the international market, the Prime Minister said the steps taken by the RBI to moderate the growth of money supply and by Finance Minister P Chidambaram to cut import duty on essential commodities would help ease inflationary pressures.

In the medium term, the government would evolve a more effective strategy to increase the production of vegetable oil and pulses.

''This will be our priority concern during the 11th Plan'' beginning next month, he said.

Dr Singh said water management was a prerequisite to checking inflation and appealed to the states to treat water as a national resource and resolve disputes connected with it in a peaceful manner.

Mounting a strong defence of the controversial Special Economic Zone (SEZ) issue, he said whatever anomalies had crept into this scheme would be redressed.

A committee, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has been constituted to go into the issue.

''I do recognise there is a need for a more humane approach towards rehabilitation and resettlement of the dispossessed families,'' he said.

At the same time, Dr Singh said industries had to be encouraged to keep the pace of industrialisation, which would help take away labour from the farm sector and provide them gainful employment, and the high, inclusive economic growth rate of over 9 per cent, which would address the problems of inequity.

''If some incentives have to be given (to industries), they have to be given,'' he said.

The Prime Minister rejected the opposition charge that the UPA government was soft-pedalling terrorism, stating that figures showed that internal security was much better now than it was during the NDA rule.

Above all, it had ensured that, unlike in the past, terror attacks did not give rise to communal violence.

The government had on more than one occasion warned the terrorists, extremists and Naxalites that they would be dealt with sternly, while it was ready to hold talks with those who shunned violence. Dwelling at length on agriculture, Dr Singh said the UPA government was giving greater emphasis on the expansion of the area under irrigation, technology breakthroughs, particularly in dryland farming, National Rainfed Authority, indebtedness of farmers and research.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme, which was being extended to 330 districts next fiscal, would be implemented across the country during the 11th Plan (2007-12), he said.

Further, Dr Singh said he was asking the Agriculture Ministry and the Planning Commission to prepare region-wise plans for rural development.

Without referring to the Cauvery dispute, which had generated much heat in Parliament in the past few days, the Prime Minister said the state governments must work in the spirit of national unity and resolve the problems over sharing of river waters.

The government would endeavour to put in place a viable and effective arrangement for resolution of inter-state disputes for the development of agriculture, he said.

On the Women's Reservation Bill, he said the government was committed to introducing it in Parliament soon. ''We are trying to evolve a consensus on it and are hopeful of doing so,'' he added.

Taking positive note of the Sachar Committee recommendations, he said the Centre was designing targeted programmes for the districts where minorities were in majority.

Asserting that his government would never compromise on the issue of unity and integrity of the country, Dr Singh said negotiations would be held only with those who talked the language of peace and not with those who killed innocent people.

On foreign policy matters, the Prime Minister said India was committed to a peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes with Pakistan through dialogue.

''We are for friendship with Pakistan, but at the same time we will not neglect security dimension while pursuing dialogue.'' Referring to the observation of BJP leader Jaswant Singh that ''terrorists should be terrorised,'' Dr Singh said sabre-rattling would not help in any manner.

He said he was confident that the SAARC Summit in New Delhi in April would be purposeful and productive and contribute to the peace in the region.

UNI