FM hopeful of moderation in inflation in coming months

Encouraged by the marginal decline in inflation in April, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that he was hopeful that prices would come down further in the coming months amid increase in food stocks and decline in the cost of manufactured items.

"The April prices have come down both on the manufacturing sector and food sector...Therefore, this is good trend and if it continues, then perhaps it will be more moderated," Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi.



On Rs 5 per litre hike in petrol prices w.e.f May 15, the Finance Minister said that since the petroleum product is deregulated, the state-run oil marketing companies had to decide on the timing of price hike.

"It was for the petroleum companies to decide at what point of time they will do so. When we deregulate it, then we have to leave it to the judgment of the OMCs," Mukherjee said.

India's GDP growth is expected to be around 8.2% in the eleventh five-year plan, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

He also said that it was time to do away with huge subsidies on petroleum products. India can only grow rapidly if it aligns energy prices to global prices, he added.

Separately, RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said that April inflation of 8.66% was high and that the central bank needs to manage the growth and inflation trade-off for faster growth.