PM assures steps to control price rise

New Delhi, Mar 5: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday, Mar 5 while expressing concern over the rising food prices, said that the government would take every step to control price rise.

Explaining the reason behind the hike in the prices of essential commodities, Prime Minister said that the government was equally worrried about it.

"I am the last one to deny that the behaviour of food prices has not been worrying. The House has my assurance that if any practical methods can bring further relief to people our govt will ensure that," the PM said.

Expressing confidence its economic policy, he said that the government was doing its best to overcome the double impact of drought and global economic crisis in order to double-digit growth.

“I am confident that economic fundamentals are strong. If we manage our economy well, if we manage creation of social infrastructure well, there is no barrier to India"s entry in the age of double digit growth," Singh said in his 55-minute speech.

Confident of ending the financial year with GDP growth of 7.2 to 7.5 per cent, the prime minister said that he claimed that India will achieve a growth rate of 8 per cent in the next fiscal (2010-11) and then to return to growth rate of 9pc in the year after.

Speaking on the sugar prices, Singh said that the rise in sugar prices is due to the three-year crop cycle.

"We will explore ways and means to check sugar prices," he added.

He said that the 2 percent decline in agriculture sector due to the drought sitauation was controlled to a certain extent by the UPA governments pro-farmer policies.

The Prime Minister made the statement during the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President"s Address in the Lok Sabha.

OneIndia News