Inflation major challenge for government: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said curbing inflation and maintaining growth momentum was a major challenge for the government.

In an interaction with editors in New Delhi, the prime minister said his government had taken a number of measures to rein in inflation and hoped prices would moderate with time, national television reported.

“It's not a typical inflation, it's influenced by global factors,” Singh was reported as saying.

India's headline inflation during the week ended June 28 touched a 13-year high of 11.89 per cent, while the growth rate of industrial production decelerated to a six-year low of 3.8 per cent.

In view of soaring inflation, economists have expressed doubts if India would log an eight per cent growth this fiscal, compared to nine per cent last year.