1 Uncorrected/ Not for publication- 08.12.2009 SSS-AKG/11.00/1A ...

183Uncorrected/ Not for publication- 08.12.2009THE VICE-CHAIRMAN (PROF. P. J. KURIEN): Okay, you take fiveminutes.SHRI PRASANTA CHATTERJEE: It is a very important issue.THE VICE-CHAIRMAN: I agree. You take five minutes. I know you willkeep your words. I know that.SHRI PRASANTA CHATTERJEE: Sir, the Government has talked aboutthe global phenomena not only in this House but also in theIndependence Day Address of the Prime Minister last year. The PrimeMinister had stated, "The inflation that we have seen this year isbasically due to external factors". Now, I would like to quote from theIMF indices:"After peaking in mid 2008, the international fuel and foodprices have fallen sharply throughout 2009; from June to July, 2008the fuel prices have fallen by nearly 50 per cent, while the foodprices have fallen by over 25 per cent."(Contd. by 3n/RG)RG/5.05/3NSHRI PRASANTA CHATTERJEE (contd.): The global inflation, whichpeaked at 6.27 per cent in July, 2008, had come down to around 1.3 percent by August, 2009, with the inflation rate of emerging economiesfalling from 9 per cent to 4.3 per cent in this period. The IMF says, andI quote: "In emerging economies, inflation is forecast to hover aroundfive per cent, in 2009-10, down from more than nine per cent in 2008."This is the picture, Sir. Now, I quote from some of the selectedcountries from different regions across the world. In October, 2009, itclearly shows that India has among the highest inflation rates. More