Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: “You pocket all the profits when the going is good but instantly pass on costs when things turn adverse. A little sharing of burden may not be bad for you” – the purported remark by a senior govt functionary has sent ripples across govt circles. The functionary is said to have made the observation during a recent interaction with some industry representatives, who told him about rising costs of raw materials due to the conflict in West Asia. While being empathetic to them and assuring them of all possible support from govt, the functionary suggested that the industry could absorb some of the increase in costs of materials instead of passing on all of that to consumers. Ministries and departments – after getting inputs from industries on short supply or non-availability of key materials – have been taking up matters with agencies concerned and also with “higher levels” for finding solutions. Govt has set up seven empowered groups of secretaries (EGoS) which regularly examine potential disruptions to trade, supply chains and logistics. These have also been taking mitigation measures and monitoring domestic availability and price stability of essential commodities. Meanwhile, officials said that during a meeting at the PMO Wednesday evening, EGoS members shared the steps taken so far and also the problems being faced. These were discussed in detail, they said. One of the issues that dominated the discussion was the availability of packaging materials for food items, milk and drugs, hit by the disruption in supply of ethylene and propylene.
