Measures taken to Control the Inflation

21st December, 2021 Economy

Figure 4: No Copyright Infringement intended

Context:

Recently, Finance Minister outlined that government has taken measures to control the inflation.

To check the petrol and diesel prices, Central Government has reduced Central Excise Duty on Petrol & Diesel by Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 respectively.
In response many states governments have also reduced Value Added Tax on petrol and diesel.

A buffer stock target of 23 lakh metric tonne (LMT) has been approved for 2021-22.
Stocks are subsequently utilised for cooling down prices through supply to states and disposal through Open Market sales
Imposition of stock limits on some pulses under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 in July 2021 to prevent hoarding.
Changes in the import policy by keeping Tur and Urad under ‘free’ category till 31st December, 2021.
Basic import duty and Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on Masur have been brought down to zero and 10% respectively.
5-year memorandum of understanding (MoUs) have been signed with Myanmar for annual import of 2.5 LMT of Urad and 1 LMT of Tur, and with Malawi for annual import of 0.50 LMT of Tur and MoU with Mozambique for annual import of 2 LMT Tur has been extended for another 5 years.

To soften the prices of edible oils, the import duty on edible oils have been rationalised and stock limits imposed to avoid hoarding upto a period of March 31, 2022.
National Mission on Edible Oils- Oil Palm has been approved with a financial outlay of Rs.11,040 crore to encourage domestic production and availability of oil palm.