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Listing various measures taken by the government to address inflation, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has said that the price situation of major essential commodities is monitored by the Government on a regular basis and corrective action is taken from time to time.

The Minister gave more details about measures, noting that the Central Government on May 21, 2022 cut excise duty by Rs 8 per litre on petrol and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Further, he said that reduction in import duties and cess on pulses, rationalisation of tariffs and imposition of stock limits on edible oils and oil seeds, maintenance of buffer stock for onion and pulses, the inclusion of soya meal as an essential commodity in the schedule of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 up to June 30, 2022 and imposition of stock limit on soya meal up to June 30, 2022 were carried out.

Besides, Chaudhary stated that soaring commodity prices and pandemic-induced supply-demand imbalances caused a rise in inflation rates worldwide including in India. The Minister also said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has exacerbated the inflationary pressures in crude oil, gas, and metals. Further, the onset of summer heat waves has led to crop damage and a rise in vegetable prices.