With inflation emerging as a major concern of public policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday asked states to check against hoarding of essential items and streamline Public Distribution System to help the poor.

"There are signs of moderation in the high inflation that we have witnessed recently. We are confident that the situation will improve further in the coming months because of the measures that we have taken.

"State governments can assist in the control of inflation by keeping a strict watch on the activities of hoarders and unscrupulous traders," he said at the two-day governors' conference in Delhi.

He also underlined the importance of effective Public Distribution System (PDS) in the states to insulate poorer sections of society from the impact of high inflation and asked the governors to advise their respective chief ministers to streamline it.

On the economic growth front, Singh said the economy, which grew at an average annual rate of 9 per cent during the last four years, may witness some slowdown in the current financial year mainly due to global slowdown, steep rise in international prices of petroleum products and other primary commodities.

"Even then, the overall growth rate of the economy will still exceed eight per cent, making India the world's second fastest growing economy," Singh said.

In the current fiscal year, inflation has emerged as an important concern of public policy, Singh said, adding that the reasons for the sharp increase in prices are to be found in the steep increase in import prices of petroleum products and other commodity prices.

"I am aware that for the common man, inflation is a major problem. We are doing our best to control the inflationary trend, and especially to protect the poor from its adverse impacts," he said.

The government has adopted several measures to control inflation and to protect the poorer sections against the adverse effects of rising prices.

"Despite a significant increase in procurement prices, we have kept the issue price of wheat and rice unchanged under the targeted PDS. This is to protect the vulnerable sections of our society against inflation," he added.

He, however, emphasised on the growth of agriculture sector to become self sufficient in an era of rising commodity prices.

"Available indicators suggest that we are entering a decade of rising commodity prices, particularly in the case of food grains. It is therefore highly important that India should pay adequate attention to self sufficiency in food grains," he said.

The UPA government has been making all efforts to make the growth process more inclusive, both socially and regionally, and good performance in agriculture is especially necessary for this to happen, Singh said.

• Inflation, the silent killer