The Prime Minister has said that all practical steps will be taken to address the rising food prices. Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks in the two Houses, Dr Manmohan Singh said that the government is concerned over the issue and is working to overcome the twin impact of monsoon failure and global economic crisis. He said the rising food inflation is a by-product of the crisis which resulted in rise in international commodity prices. He said India is dependent on imports of vegetable oils, sugar and pulses. The poor monsoon added to the pressure. Dr Singh conceded that the price could have been controlled by tight monetary policy, but this would have resulted in depressed demand. On one hand, it would lead to slow growth path and on the other, large scale unemployment. The Prime Minister asserted that government has dealt with the situation deftly which resulted in over 7 per cent growth. Dr Singh said that increased growth rate enabled government to allocate more resources for rural development, agriculture and education. It has also resulted in high saving and investment rates. He said the prices of some food items have started coming down and urged the state governments to take action against hoarders and black marketers besides strengthening and plugging holes in the Public Distribution system. Dr Singh said that government has given first priority to agriculture sector by increasing investment.<br/><br/>Referring to internal security, Dr Manmohan Singh said that government is taking firm action to curb the Naxal violence and is ready to hold talks with any group that abjures violence. He said modernizing state police forces is another priority area and centre has released about 1,000 crore rupees till the end of January for the purpose. Describing the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA programme as a revolutionary one, he said it has the potential to change the face of rural India. He said an independent grievance redressal and monitoring mechanism has been put in place for its effective implementation and more such steps are on anvil.<br/><br/>On Telangana issue, he said that the Centre acted on the advice of the Andhra Pradesh government and after its fall out it was necessary to develop a consensus on the issue and the Srikrishna Commission has been constituted with this mandate.<br/><br/>On Women Reservation Bill, he said it will be the strongest affirmation of country's commitment to their empowerment. Our Parliamentary correspondent reports that in his over an hour long speech in the two Houses, Dr Singh touched almost all issues raised during the debate and put the records straight on important issues like one rank one pension.