Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that price of pulses in the domestic market have started moderating and are expected to further ease as the new crop comes in.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the upcoming International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa from November 20 to 30, Jaitley said that prices have come down due to various efforts taken by the government, and with the new crop, the shortage is expected to be further contained.

“In the past five to seven days, prices in almost all States have started decreasing,” he said while responding to a question on prices. He said that prices of certain products such as pulses, especially urad daal and tur daal , have seen an increase not only in India but also in other international markets.

The country requires about 22 million tonnes of pulses. He said with increased support price the government had given last time, the production has been about 17 million tonnes and the government has imported pulses to meet the deficit. However, the yield in these countries has been lower than usual, which led to hoarding by traders.

He said two weeks ago, the Centre took the initiatives and several States conducted raids and recovered pulses in large amounts, which will be sold in the market.

HSBC whistleblower Commenting on media reports on the HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani asking for protection to reveal more information, Jaitley said the Indian government was in touch with various countries and was making all efforts to get information on black money account holders.

He said the Indian government representatives have also met the whistleblower and even offered a reward for information. He said an informant should give information without putting forth any conditions.

On the allegations made by the Opposition that the present government was encouraging intolerance, Jaitley asked: ‘Where is intolerance? We are the most vibrant democracy.”

India will never be intolerant and the national situation is absolutely peaceful, he said, adding that political opponents must fight battles on political issues.

He also said when there is peace in the country, there is no justification for film makers to return awards and said the awardees are selected by a jury consisting of members from the film fraternity.

IFFI 2015 will showcase 187 films from 89 countries in world cinema section along with 26 features and 21 non-feature films in Indian Panorama section. While actor Anil Kapoor will be the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony, The Man Who Knew Infinity , written and directed by Mathew Brown, will be the opening film at festival.

Fifteen films will compete for the international competition and the jury will be chaired by director and actor Shekhar Kapur.

Review meeting Later in the day, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley chaired a meeting to review the prices of essential commodities ahead of the festival season.

“On an average prices, across the country have declined by about ₹20 a kg. With the ongoing market arrivals of Urad dal and arrival of the new crop of Arhar dal expected in early December, the prices would ease further,” the statement added.

Jaitley directed the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and Food and Consumer Affairs to work closely with the States and take immediate measures, such as stepping up procurement of pulses, to enhance buffer stocks.

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