Digital price monitoring of commodities will help control inflation: PM

F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said the digital system launched by the government to monitor availability and prices of essential commodities would effectively control inflation besides ensuring transparency in policy-making.
The Prime Minister expressed these views at a briefing given by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on policy-making system in view of inflation and the social and economic impact of coronavirus pandemic.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the digital system would ensure accurate monitoring of prices of commodities and also evaluate the performance of district administrations.
During COVID-19 situation, he said, the government took solid measures to provide relief to poor and working class to minimize the financial impact of global economy hit by the pandemic.
Imran Khan said with blessings of Allah Almighty and the timely action of his government, Pakistan overcame this difficult situation and gained praise at international level.
The Member Statistics informed the meeting that the digital system of monitoring had been set up with an objective to control the inflation rate.
Under this system, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics collects data on essential commodities from districts across the country and prepares reports based on comparative analysis.
The meeting was informed that the system had been developed under the Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan Vision to enable timely decision-making regarding the prices and availability of commodities. The system will provide timely information on essential commodities to the National Price Monitoring Committee, federal ministries, provincial governments and district administrations and will help them take timely decisions.
The meeting was updated that the survey collected data on situation of employment, income, remittances, food and health during the pandemic.
The survey revealed that most households were economically affected at the onset of pandemic, however the timely measures of the government and smart lockdown policy lead to improvement in situation by July 2020.
The briefing was attended by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Minister for Industries and Production Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, PM’s Special Assistant on Revenue Dr Waqar Masood and senior officials.