Unfazed by the criticism over the latest hike in petrol prices by oil companies,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday called for decontrolling prices of most commodities except those which are in the nature of semi-public goods. Speaking to the Indian media at the G20 Summit here immediately before his departure for Delhi,Singh said the general policy direction was irreversibly for decontrolling more and more prices. We must allow markets to find their place, Singh asserted. However,asked whether diesel prices could also be decontrolled soon,he said such decisions were subject matter of political feasibility and their timing would have to be carefully worked out. Inflation has shifted from foodgrains to mostly secondary and tertiary food products,Singh said,which also reflected the higher demand for these products and was a sign of prosperity. If the economy is growing at 8 per cent and the population at 1.6 per cent,then per capita income must be growing at 6.5-6.7 per cent. The 4.6 per cent fiscal deficit target must be taken very seriously and expenditure control through cuts in some subsidies and disinvestment could be the way forward,the PM added. On the alleged flight of black money to tax havens,he said one natural solution for the problem could be Indias emergence as a land of opportunity. This would persuade those who took away funds to bring them back and others to cease looking for greener pastures abroad.
