Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeOpinionDiaryHousewives feel the pinch due to rising inflation

Housewives feel the pinch due to rising inflation

- Advertisement -

High prices of food is not only a worry but keeps the monthly budget of housewives under check as they have to spend more money on purchasing essential commodities like foodgrains and vegetables. There is steep increase in vegetable prices for sometime now. Usually, the vegetable and foodgrain prices come down drastically during winter season. But this time round the prices are soaring and the common man will be wondering how to make up for the sudden spurt. The Dearness allowance is increased marginally and at the same time the soaring prices of essential commodities is a cause of worry.

Housewives are hard pressed to make both the ends meet and provide the best food items to their children. If the same condition persists for some more time then the situation will go from bad to worse. The middle income group will suffer and the lower income group and the people below the poverty line will perish now.  Water scarcity is quoted for the shortfall of vegetables and ever increasing prices of commodities. The rise is steeper when compared to the same period last year.

India’s inflation has been persistently high and has risen in the last five years to the highest level among all emerging economies, matched only by Vietnam – a much smaller and more open economy. The procurement price for cereals has been rising very rapidly, well above the increase in the cost of production. Over the last five years the procurement price of cereals has increased over the cost of production by almost 15-60 per cent for a cumulative differential of around 150 per cent. India has witnessed huge economic development in the past 10 years, yet we have failed to control inflation.

Another factor cited for rising food inflation is increasing agricultural wages, generally ascribed to a labour market that is tightening due to the rural employment guarantee programme. Rural wages have risen, which explains the declining poverty despite rising food prices. Some traders indulge in hoarding of foodgrains and vegetables. They create artificial demand for the goods and charge high prices for these commodities. The state and the central government should make efforts to control prices forthwith and avoid tight situation soon. The prices of all the essential commodities of daily use such as rice, wheat, potato, milk etc should be fixed and controlled. And adequate measures should be taken to ensure smooth supply of these items. It is now or never situation to control vegetables and foodgrain prices by procuring these commodities directly from the farmers and making it available to public at comparative cheap rates.

Jayanthy Subramaniam 

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Latest

Must Read

- Advertisement -

Related News