Lok Sabha Question No. 3642 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-11
Subject: Rising Prices of Essential Commodities
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Smt. Geniben Nagaji Thakor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3642

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2025/ Sravana 20, 1947 (Saka)

## RISING PRICES OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES

## 3642. SMT GENIBEN NAGAJI THAKOR:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a)   whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  rising  prices  of  essential  commodities  and services impacting the common man;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the inflation trends during the last three years;
- (c)  the short-term and long-term measures taken by the Government to control inflation and reduce the burden on middle and low-income households; and
- (d)  whether the Government has any plans to provide targeted subsidies or relief packages to mitigate the effects of price rise on essential goods like food, fuel and transportation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a) and (b): The Department of Consumer Affairs monitors the daily prices of 38 essential food commodities  -including  rice,  pulses,  onions  and  tomatoes-  across  566  price  monitoring centres nationwide. An  Inter-Ministerial  Committee  regularly  reviews the prices  and availability  of  these  commodities  and  suggests  measures  to  enhance  their  availability  to stabilize the prices. During the last three years, the retail inflation in terms of Consumer Price Index (CPI) has declined steadily from 6.7 per cent (2022-23) to 5.4 per cent (2023-24) and further to 4.6 per cent (2024-25), the lowest in the last 6 years. Furthermore, CPI declined to an average of 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2025-26, ending the quarter at 2.1 per cent in June 2025. The deceleration in food inflation continued through Q1 of 2025-26 and reached a negative territory with (-) 1.06 per cent in June 2025, the lowest after January 2019.

(c) and (d): The reduction in inflation, particularly in essential commodities, can be attributed to a series of proactive measures undertaken by the Government to control price rise and ease the burden on middle- and low-income households. These measures include augmentation of buffer stocks for essential food items, strategic sales of procured grains in the open market, facilitation  of  imports  and  imposition  of  export  curbs  during  periods  of  short  supply, implementation of stock limits to boost market availability of essential commodities, retail sales of select food items under the Bharat brand at subsidised rates, distribution of food grains free  of  cost  to  around  81  crore  beneficiaries  under  the  National  Food  Security  Act,  and increasing the disposable income of individuals by exempting annual incomes up to ₹12 lakh (and  ₹12.75  lakh  for  salaried  individuals  with  standard  deduction)  from  income  tax.  To mitigate  the  impact  of  fuel  and  transport-related  inflation,  the  Government  has  introduced several additional measures like, providing a targeted subsidy of  ₹300 per Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinder for about 10.33 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries, intra-state freight  rationalisation  to  reduce  Petrol  and  Diesel  prices  in  remote  areas  within  states, augmenting  domestic  exploration  and  production  of  crude  oil  and  improving  the  share  of renewable sources in India's energy mix. The Central Government also reduced Central Excise Duty on petrol and diesel by ₹13/litre and ₹16/litre, respectively, in two tranches (November 2021 and May 2022), with the full benefit passed on to consumers. Additionally, several State Governments lowered their VAT rates to provide further relief. In March 2024, Oil Marketing Companies reduced the retail prices of petrol and diesel by ₹ 2 per litre each. In April 2025, excise duty on Petrol and Diesel was increased by ₹ 2 per litre each; however, this increase was not passed on to consumers.