Manmohan asks states to rein in price rise

Addressing the first annual conference of chief secretaries here, the prime minister said  that the government’s experience in the past two years has brought to the fore the importance of food security and the need for containing prices.

“For some time, there was a false sense of security that availability of food has ceased to be a concern. Similarly, many felt that we have been able to control prices. But we have learnt that our growing population and higher levels of living necessitate augmentation of our food supplies”.

Asking the states to focus their energy on the area of increasing agricultural productivity, Singh said India’s agricultural productivity still ranked far below the best in the world. 

“We must also recognise that in a globalised world, it will never be possible to insulate ourselves from the pulls and pressures of international demand and supply. The state governments must forge appropriate strategies to bolster food production and tackle shortages of essential supplies”.