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MUMBAI, 20th FEBRUARY, 2023 (GPN): The Union Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, attended a post-budget discussion in Jaipur today. During the meeting, she interacted with various stakeholders, including representatives of industry associations, MSME bodies, startups, and bankers. Sitharaman Highlighted the measures taken by the centre to control inflation.

While answering Global Prime News (GPN) Media Today, Sitharaman said that it’s not the government that comes out with the decision. It cannot be implemented at all unless the GST Council decides what rate petrol and diesel should be included.

The Reserve Bank of India will take necessary steps to manage inflation within “expected limits,’ Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the post-budget industry event in Jaipur today (Monday – 20th February).

India’s annual retail inflation rate topped estimates with a 6.52% reading in last week of January, breaching the top-end of RBI’s target for the first time in three months, as prices rose for food products such as cereals and wheat.

RBI has targeted keeping inflation between 2%-6%.

“In emerging markets, the situation is unique to each of the countries. In that I think, RBI is watching the Indian economy and taking a call as and when it is required,” Sitharaman said.

For instance, in the case of pulses, the government is encouraging farmers to grow pulses to boost domestic production and has also reduced the import duty on some of the pulses to improve local availability.

When asked whether Budget 2023-24 would bring down inflation, Sitharaman said: “The government is taking a lot of steps to control inflation and will continue to focus on it.”

“We have taken a lot of steps, for example, encouraging farmers to sow pulses so that the production of pulses in India increases in the coming sowing season,” Sitharaman told reporters here.

She further said that as a short-term step, “wherever we are importing, whether Masoor, Moong or whatever pulses, the government has reduced the import duty to single digit or has completely removed it. It has made imports convenient and pulses are available quickly and cheaply in India.”

The Union Minister said, “the import of edible oil has been made almost free (tax) for the last three consecutive years, due to which palm crude or palm refined oil has also been (route) opened so that the supply of edible oil is easy and sufficient.”

HSBC expects inflation to tread slightly higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s forecast at 5.4% in the year starting April 1. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and fuel prices and is a major concern for policymakers, is estimated to come in at 5.5% in their view.

Answering the query on bringing petrol and diesel under the GST purview, she said, “Petrol and diesel can be taken under the GST if the GST council, which is not governed by any one government but finance ministers of all states, takes the call. The Centre government has made its intent clear by saying that we will put it as an item under GST. Now the GST council should take a call and let there be an ‘open charcha’.”

On the Congress’ allegations of vindictive approach, the finance minister said, “Investigative agencies like ED, CBI and others do a huge big homework for quite some time and when they have necessary prime facie material in their hands, after having sent a number of questionnaires and getting partial complete, or no reply, they go. It can’t be done overnight by any instinct.”

“It’s strange that a party’s past presidents, on money matters or corruption are all out on bail and that is through courts. And they speak of vindictive politics.

“Each agency going there has been bringing tangible material… some of which has been pictured by the media. Instead of accusing people of vindictiveness, they should explain to people and its own plenary as to why their people are out on bail by the court.”

She said, “The Congress party should not speak at all on corruption, and then bring in the matter of vindictiveness. It is a shame, one after the other, every Congress government has come and gone out of power on the issues related to corruption,” she said.

Economists have said the soaring prices of cereals such as wheat and rice were a concern for the Indian economy even though the January inflation data highlights the extent of the increase.

Some Asian and western countries that have been providing subsidized food and energy since the pandemic started, calculate consumer price index-based inflation using a weighted average of a segment of the population that pays market price for such items and those who don’t, said country’s Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran.

Since India does not do that, the “stated increase in grains price is not exactly what all consumers bear, therefore stated inflation rate overstates the underlying inflation rate,” he said.

Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Karad said that there is a big share for railways and road development in the budget presented by the Central Government for the financial year 2023-24