Mukherjee tells industry captains that food inflation is coming down

New Delhi, May 12 (ANI): Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said food inflation is coming down in the wake of a good monsoon prediction.

Speaking at CII National Conference and Annual Session here, Mukherjee said: "I expect inflation based on Consumer Price Index - Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) to decline rapidly as the price of the food items is now declining."

The government has taken a host of initiatives to deal with rising prices, Mukherjee said, adding, "Inflation erodes real income. It hurts the marginalised and the poor segment of our society the most."

Admitting that a large chunk of people don't get the benefit of economic growth, he urged upon the private sector to play a catalytic role in the process of inclusive growth. "Private sector has an important role to play in filling the rural education gap especially in the area of vocational training to address the growing shortage of skilled workers," he added.

As regards economic growth, Mukherjee said, "IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook has projected India's GDP growth to be 8.8 per cent in 2010, and 8.4 per cent in 2011 and I expect an even better performance."

The economy was estimated to record a growth rate of 7.2 per cent during 2009-10 despite the impact of unfavourable monsoon on the farm sector, he added.

He further said that discussions are on to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS).

"The Government also is keen to strengthen assessment and evaluation of all the programmes and schemes," he added. (ANI)