Centre to take all measures to contain food prices: Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal assures stable food prices during elections, emphasizing government's commitment to controlling inflation for citizens.

The Centre will pull all stops to ensure prices of essential food items from onion to tomatoes to pulses do not spike particularly during the elections, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said as he cited the Modi government's track record of controlling rates within days of any temporary hike.

In an interview with PTI, Mr. Goyal, who is heading the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry, asserted that the Modi government would continue to take measures to ensure that there is no stress on the household budget of "our Nari-Shakti".

Replying to a query regarding the government's strategy to ensure that there are no spikes in prices of food items when the general election kicks in, the Minister said, "We are going to be on top of it. And I can assure the people of India that this government cares for the women of India."

He highlighted that the government has spent in the last few years about ₹28,000 crore to the price stabilisation fund to support the effort to fight against food inflation.

"We will continue to be there with our sisters and mothers and make sure that we do not give stress...We are pro-actively on the job to make sure that we respect our Nari- Shakti and respect that they need to get a better household budget," Mr. Goyal asserted.

The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule soon and the Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in April-May.

The Minister spoke at length about the government's various measures in the last few years to check prices of food items like onion, tomato, and pulses.