of the national government both at the centre and in the states offers a sad commentary on their tackling of the food problem. All the tall talks about the Grow More Food Campaigns and dealing with the question of food on a veritable war footing have failed to produce as much tangible result as was expected by the people.
Again oblivious of the miseries of the common people the government have long manifested a softness of heart towards the anti-socially active hoarders. There is some truth behind this complaint as made in the Lok-Sabha by some communist members who pointed with pride to their own party's government in Kerala where because of the normal situation prevailing in the rice market there has neither price control nor seizure of stocks by the govt. Stocks are the very essence of the distribution of trade. Changes in the propensity to stock either of producers or of traders and sometimes even of consumers largely determine the fluctuations in demand and supply.
The present rise in prices in the country in spite of claims of increase in agricultural and industrial production is largely the result of heavy expenditure of an unproductive character incurred by the government. On the other hand prices rise right from the middle of the harvesting season has caused wide spread concern, not only about the potential inflationary dangers inherent in this situation but also about its implications for the Second Five Year plan as well as our future planning. While production of food-grains has gone up it is inexplicable why their prices should record an ever upward trend unless hoarders and smugglers have been keeping themselves exceptionally busy all the times.
The unsatisfactory harvest of the last two years made it necessary to import food-grains and to limit export particulary of vegetable oils. There has also been a rise in the prices of imported machinery and equipment. The closure of the Suez Canal added to the freight bill. Apart from these the fact that in some cases the original cost estimates turned out to the somewhat conservative has necessitated larger expenditure on imports. Imports for investment in the private sector have also been higher than expected. While the gap in foreign exchange widened, the available external resources have been smaller than were expected.
