Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the Reserve Bank of India will take the appropriate steps to rein in the prices of the food commodities but also stressed on strengthening the public distribution system by the state government to combat food inflation. Mukherjee who was speaking at the 179 th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce in the city on Saturday expressed concern over rising food prices but said that if the public distribution system (PDS) works efficiently then there are provisions for more than 40 crore people in the country to get foodgrains at subsidised rates. Development of PDS infrastructure is the responsibility of the state government. It is not a question of passing the blame but a constitutional arrangement, Mukherjee said. Calling the food economy most critical to Indian economy,Mukherjee said the answer to the present problem lies in strengthening the PDS so that about 40 to 50 crore people get subsidised foodgrains and the rest can procure it from market. The Finance Minister also justified the huge procurement by government and said that since 70 per cent of agriculture is rain-fed the government cannot choose not to procure and depend on luck. Mukherjee said,I am concerned that the prices are increasing. But I cannot ignore economic factors and change the gear of growth in reverse direction.
