Here's what the government must do to tackle inflation Bhaskar Dutta Warwick: I wrote in this column a couple of months ago that the rate of inflation had just crossed 7 per cent, and went on to add that this was the highest price rise witnessed in the previous 40 months. There was an air of acute despair amongst top Congress leaders since no easy options seemed to be available to the government to control the surge in prices of a wide range of commodities, including most unfortunately staple food items.