Govt taking steps to control inflation, will continue to focus on it: Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the government is taking several steps to control inflation and would continue to focus on it.
During the post-budget press conference in Jaipur, on a query over whether Budget FY24 would reduce inflation, the Union Finance Minister said, “The government is taking several 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 added.
As a short-term step, the minister said “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 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.”
On another query over the Directorate of Enforcement’s ongoing raids on some Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, Nirmala Sitharaman said no action is taken with a sense of revenge.
The finance minister said, “Any agency first collects data and only then action is taken. No action is executed with sense of revenge.”