MANIPUR-No Easy Peace

commodities stands out. In prices of manufactures, the cost-plus pricing system has already begun to absorb the cost-push inflationary pressures. The external sector's influences on domestic prices in terms of depreciation of the rupee, higher import content of output and larger export demand arc reflected in many sectoral prices such as tea and coffee and electrical machinery. Even the existence of large foreign exchange reserves has not helped matters, though the government has been repeatedly claiming that relaxation on imports would ensure near normal availability of essential commodities. For instance, despite the dire need for augmenting supplies of pulses, neither private trade nor any government agency has made any systematic procurement and marketing arrangements in the past few years when pulses import has been put under open general licence (OGL); they seem to have a vested interest in keeping domestic pulses prices high.