Prices to come down by Jan-end: Montek

With the coming of the rabi (winter) crop,he added,”you will see a drop in cereal inflation compared to what it is now … wait for the end of January… on the foodgrain front there will be ample available”.

Driven by rising prices of pulses,potato,onion and other vegetables,the food inflation soared to decade’s high of about 20 per cent in December before sliding marginally.

About the country’s economic growth prospects in the current fiscal,Ahluwalia said it “would definitely be 7 per cent or a little more is quite likely”.

The Commission,which had projected a growth rate of 6.5 per cent for 2009-10,he said,would revise it upwards,especially in view of the robust 7.9 per cent GDP recorded in the second quarter (July-September). Economy grew by 6.7 per cent in 2008-09.