Increase in oil prices rise to inflation.

Recent increase in prices of diesel and other petroleum products is bound to further increase in inflation level in the country not just due to rise in transportation cost but through making food items and other farm products costlier for the poor. Diesel is the prime source of energy utilized in almost all steps of today's farming whether it is ploughing by tractors, drilling, irrigation, spraying, harrowing, harvesting or thrashing. Since the advent of drought dependence over diesel-run tube wells has been increased for irrigation in areas where ground water is sweet and the recent 17.2 per cent increase in price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) will play a prime role in snatching bread from the hands of the poor. According to an estimate this increase in price of diesel will push up the per acre cost of production of wheat by Rs. 350 and in terms of per 40 kilogrammes the cost of production will rise by Rs. 10 to Rs. 15. In cases of rice and sugarcane the production cost will increase by even higher proportions since these crops consume more water than wheat....