'Taming inflation is govt's top priority'

Need to use supply side tools as well to manage inflation: FM

- Rhik Kundu

The Union government’s priority is to tame inflation for sustained economic growth, though elevated interest rates may act as a dampener to global economic recovery, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.

Persistent high inflation will crimp demand, Sitharaman said and added that the tendency to use interest rates as the only solution to tackle inflation has its own downside.

"Most economies do have this problem—an obsession of using interest rate as the only tool to deal with inflation," the minister said at the B20 summit, a gathering of top business executives from G20 countries.

"Central banks will have to keep in mind growth and growth-related priorities along with controlling inflation," she said. "Obsession to use interest rates as the only tool to deal with inflation and not manage the supply side factors will not give a complete solution for inflation."