Inflation, a headache for government

Food inflation, which has marginally eased to 16.9 percent in early January, is a major headache for a government already battling multi-billion dollar corruption cases that have emboldened the opposition. Rising prices of basic food stuffs, such as onions, could threaten the Congress party's chance in elections in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu that are key for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition to keep a majority in parliament. The Indian government has already taken a series of measures from banning onion exports to putting a pause on sugar exports, but food inflation has remained stubbornly high despite policymakers' forecasts of a slowdown.Keywords: Inflation, Headache, Government, Onion export, Slowdown