date:Apr 07, 2013
uch as raising the price of subsidised fuels to cut the budget deficit and opening up the retail sector to foreign supermarkets.
Some government officials had argued that costs of food subsidies would go up if the sector was liberalised, because the state would have to buy sugar on the open market, further fanning food inflation, which is above 11 percent.
As a result of the reforms, the government's bill for supplying sugar at cheaper rates to the poor will rise to 53 billion rupees ($966.4 m