India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday a committee had been formed to review the price situation regularly as food inflation galloped over 17%.
Surge in prices of essential commodities would be brought under control soon, he said after receiving the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque at the Asiatic Society in Kolkata.
Mukherjee concurred with the imbalance between demand and supply, and the government took the initiative to augment the supply line to bridge the gap.
The government on Saturday formed a committee, comprising Chief Ministers of 10 states along with the Finance Minister, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to suggest measures to check soaring prices and revamping of the public distribution system. It also took some concrete steps like liberalizing imports and removal of duties.
The wholesale price-based general inflation, from sub-zero level last year, crossed 7% in December and is estimated to rise to 8.5% by March.
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May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.