April 01, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 23, 1429

NEW DELHI, March 31: India said on Monday it was considering cutting import duties on a host of food and other products “to zero” to boost supply and tame surging inflation.

The announcement came after India’s annual inflation rate accelerated to a 13-month high of 6.68 per cent late last week, having doubled in just a few months.

Rising inflation has pressured the Congress-led government as it faces general elections in early 2009 with its main supporters -- the country’s poor --- hardest hit by soaring prices.—AFP