MRC Proposes New System for Currency Subsidy

In a report analyzing drawbacks of the allocation of subsidized currency to import essential goods, the Majlis Research Center says the policy is inefficient and a new mechanism is needed to support the low-income strata. 
Drawing parallels between the inflation rate at the end of 2017-18 and the month to February 20, using the Consumer Price Index, it said the CPI for essential goods shot up over 53%. This is while the figure for non-essential goods jumped 85%.  
In a rather sarcastic manner, the influential think tank says, this “achievement has come at the expense of spending over $14 billion on importing essential goods” at a time when the country is facing chronic shortages of foreign currency due to the new US sanctions.