Roll back prices of essential commodities to July 1990 levels within the first 100 days
“prices of essential commodities would be rolled back to July 1990 levels”
The verdict
Outlook reports the Finance Minister called the rollback pledge impossible to achieve. Official data show wholesale inflation peaked above 16% in September 1991 and was 17% in August 1991; prices rose, not fell, though inflation was below 5% by February 1996.
Rule applied: Broken: abandoned, reversed or officially dropped → 0
“The 100-day price rollback is still waiting for its first day.”
Evidence timeline
- StatisticsUndated· Ministry of FinancesupportsEconomic Survey 1995-96, ch. 5 Prices and Distribution ↗
“The first phase represented escalating inflationary path with annual inflation rate attaining a peak level of over 16 per cent in September, 1991”
- Budget24 Jul 1991· Ministry of FinancesupportsBudget Speech 1991-92 (Manmohan Singh) ↗
“I recognise that the tax reliefs I have given, by themselves, constitute only a small step towards the realisation of the objective mentioned in our manifesto in regard to prices of essential commodities.”
- Budget28 Feb 1996· Ministry of FinancesupportsInterim Budget Speech 1996-97 ↗
“The annual rate of inflation was as high as 17 per cent in August 1991. It has been brought below 5 per cent in February 1996”
- News6 Feb 2022· OutlooksupportsPledges On Paper ↗
“Manmohan Singh told his party colleagues that the pledge in the 1991 manifesto that prices of essential commodities would be rolled back to July 1990 levels was 'imaginary' and impossible for him to achieve.”
More economy promises from this manifesto
Cut non-plan government expenditure by 10%
Glass aadha bhara hai. Ya aadha khaali. Depends kaun puch raha hai.
Promise ID inc-ls-1991-001 · drafted 5 Oct 2026 by research-agent · JSON