Govt to strengthen PDS to protect citizens from price rise

Concerned over rising prices of essential commodities, the Government today said it would strengthen and improve the public distribution system (PDS) to protect the interest of consumers.

"To insulate (common man) from the adverse impact of price rise we are improving the PDS system...This year the prices have not come down after the festival season," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while replying to a discussion on the first batch of supplementary demands for grants in the Lok Sabha here.

According to recent data, food inflation during November shot up to over 19 per cent, the highest in the decade.

Attributing rising prices to shortage of supply, Mukherjee said, "the price rise is not because of demand management... Edible oils, sugar and pulses are the things most affected by the price rise."

The Minister also recalled various steps taken by the government to improve supplies of essential foods items like pulses and sugar, the prices of which have shot up significantly during the course of the year.

The supplementary demands for grants, which was approved by the Lok Sabha, seeks to raise public expenditure by Rs 25,725 crore, over and above what was approved by Parliament during the budget.