Food inflation to decline soon, assures Pranab

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday prices of essential commodities have started softening and food inflation will decline in the coming months.

"Indications of softening food inflation are clearly visible. . . It is expected that this would decline in the coming months uninterruptedly," he said while initiating discussions on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Food inflation, the minister said, had declined from over 20 per cent in December, 2009, to 17.7 per cent in March, 2010.

The minister also recalled the steps taken by the government to deal with general inflation, which was in the negative zone in June-August, 2009, and had since risen to 9.9 per cent in March, 2010.

The minister also expressed the commitment of the government to continue with the fiscal consolidation programme and gradually reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent in 2011-12 and 4.1 per cent in 2012-13.

The Finance Bill, on which discussion began in the Lower House on Wednesday, contains tax proposals.