No instant solution to curb food inflation: Pranab

Kolkata, December 31: Amid rising food prices hitting the household budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said he has no “instant solution” to the problem.

“Unlike instant coffee, there is no instant solution to such vexed problem as inflation,” he told reporters when asked about the steps being taken by the government to check food inflation which almost touched 20 per cent during the third week of December.

Discounting the possibility of excess liquidity pushing up inflation, Mukherjee said liquidity is not responsible for the current inflationary pressure.

“I had a detailed discussion with the RBI and found that there is no reason to believe that excess liquidity is contributing to inflation in the economy,” the minister said.

These comments come in the backdrop of wide speculation that the apex bank will adopt policy measures to suck liquidity out of the system.

–Agencies