Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet meeting to take stock of the government's preparedness to combat inflation has begun.
With spiralling inflation, the Centre had yesterday asked the states to crack down on hoarders while unveiling a series of measures to check prices of cereals, fruits and vegetables and slapping restrictions on potato and onion exports.
A jump in prices of potatoes and onions last month drove inflation to 6.01 percent from 5.20 percent in April, contributing to a sell-off in financial markets.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who held a meeting yesterday to decide steps to control food inflation, said the government was keeping a close watch on the price movements of 22 commodities and would offload additional rice stocks in the market to prevent a build-up in inflationary expectations.
Jaitley asked the states to amend their laws crack down on speculative hoarding in anticipation of a weak monsoon and boost the supply of fruits and vegetables in open markets.
Prime Minister Modi, who was elected last month amid widespread anger over rising prices, has made tackling inflation his top priority.
With Agency Inputs
