Prices of food items have consistently come down: Goyal

New Delhi: The government has managed to substantially bring down inflation and prices of most food items has come down, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said today.

During the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Goyal was asked if prices of food products had risen due to rise in price of petrol and diesel. Goyal emphasised that prices of most food items have come down during the rule of the present government. “During our term, prices have consistently fallen,” he said.

“Inflation based on Consumer Price Index (Combined) for the month of June, 2018 stood at 5 per cent as compared to 4.9 per cent in May 2018 and 4.6 per cent in April, 2018. There has been a significant moderation in overall inflation over the last three years owing to astute macro-economic management and price monitoring by the government,” the minister said.

The Consumer Price Index (Combined) which averaged 4.9 per cent in 2015-16, to 4.5 per cent in 2016-17 and further declined to 3.6 per cent in 2017-18, he said.

Similarly food inflation based on Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) has declined from 4.9 per cent in 2015-16 to 4.2 per cent in 2016-17 and further to 1.8 per cent in 2017-18, the minister said. Food inflation in June 2018 was just 2.9 per cent, he said.

Goyal said if inflation figures for the last ten, and not just three years, are looked at, they will reveal what is price rise and how if hurts the common man. He said while there may be a temporary rise in the price of a certain commodity largely inflation had remained under control.

Responding to a question on economic growth, he said the International Monetary Fund had not reduced the country’s growth projections and the economy was expected to show robust growth of over 7 per cent this year as well as the next. “We will be the fastest growing large economy,” he said.

To emphasise his point that prices have come down, Goyal shared the data of several food items. Arhar Dal, he said was priced at Rs 109.63 per kg in 2015 but now the cost has come down to Rs 71.76. The prices of Urad and Moong have shown a similar decease, he said.

Goyal also said that subsidised food was provided to large section of the population and a scheme first initiated in Chhattisgarh was being extended to the rest of the country.