Tough steps to tackle prices would have hit jobs,output

Singh said price rise was due to three reasons global recession,drought and rise in international commodity prices and sought to stress that checking them was beyond the governments control. The crisis situation that emerged was a byproduct of events over which we had no control, he said and underlined that since India is no longer a closed economy it could not have escaped the impact of international commodity prices.

He also pointed out that giving higher prices to farmers for their produce also raised the floor prices but justified it saying that it was required to procure for the Public Distribution System. The PM asserted that his government dealt with the grim situation deftly by weathering the crisis of higher prices but not allowing large-scale unemployment. At the same time,Singh assured that if any practical methods could bring further relief to the people his government would ensure it. Quoting figures of agri-production he hoped that food prices would stabilise at a reasonable level.

Seeking to make matters clear for those arguing that growth figures are useless till the benefits trickle down to the masses,Singh clarified that growth was not the end but the means to address the problems faced by the people. If we do not grow fast enough we may talk about removal of poverty,we may talk about expanding irrigation and other facilities in rural India these will remain pipe dreams, he said,pointing out that the government was able to devote more resources for the social sectors only because of increase in growth rate. Growth is only a means to provide relief to those who are suffering… he remarked.

Instilling hope for future growth,Singh expressed confidence that if things were managed well then there was no barrier to India entering on a long term basis the age of double digit growth. Emphasising the need to get back to a growth rate of 9 per cent or more,the Prime Minister said the macro fundamentals of the countrys economy were very sound and sought to justify it. He said nobody had imagined that in the last ten years Indias savings and investment rates could be as high as 35-36 per cent and hoped that in the next two decades it would rise to around 40 per cent.

On the Oppositions allegations of a scam in sugar imports,Singh told the Rajya Sabha: The Opposition smells a scam everywhere,I cant help it. He also stoutly defended Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar saying sugar was exported to honour prior international commitments. And citing figures for the months of November and December 2009,he said the amount that India has exported relative to imports is so small that it is surprising that so much is being made out of this.