FM sees improvement in inflation in coming days

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed hope that inflation situation would improve in the days ahead. "If this declining trend continues, I do hope it will have a moderating influence on the price front," he told reporters in New Delhi. Mukherjee said that the domestic situation on inflation was improving, though concerns remain over international issues. "The trend is encouraging so far as the domestic sector is concerned. But we do not have total control over international issues, international commodity prices, fuel prices. The influence of the external inflationary pressure could have some adverse impact on our domestic front," he said.

In his interaction with the media, the Finance Minister said that he expects WPI inflation to come down to 6-7% by the end of March 2012. "Food inflation which was high at 22% in February 2010 has come down to 8%. This is also not acceptable. But a declining trend is there," he said. On the other hand, the Finance Ministry said that inflation will continue to remain high till December on account of seasonal effects and upward movement in crude oil, manufactured and administered fuel prices.

Mukherjee stuck to the Economic Survey's growth projection of 9% (+/- 0.25%) GDP growth for FY12. But a note circulated by the Finance Ministry scaled down the growth rate to 8.6%, from an initial projection of 9%. The Finance Minister dismissed talk of any drift in UPA II while also rejecting allegations that the Government was going slow on important reforms.

A series of major economic enactments are likely to come up in the monsoon session of Parliament that starts on August 1, he said. Bills on land acquisition, mining & mineral development, food security and the Lokpal will be introduced in the parliament, Mukherjee said. "I see no reason for such cynicism. All measures are being taken and there is no let-up in our efforts. There is