India’s inflation rate is the highest of all leading Group of 20 nations.

“With normal monsoon (rains), the rate of inflation in food prices will abate in the second half of the year,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a state of economy speech ahead of the new parliamentary session opening on Monday.

His remarks appeared aimed at undercutting a feisty opposition raring to attack the government on a slew of issues including 10.55 percent inflation that has caused huge hardship to millions of Indians below the poverty line.

Singh said plentiful rains would boost farm output and reduce headline inflation to six percent by December as he sought to deflect attacks on the Congress party-led government over rising prices.

The offensive has been spearheaded by the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party which has seized on high prices to regalvanize its moribund fortunes and win support from the poor, traditional supporters of the left-leaning Congress government.

Singh’s statements in a speech to senior policymakers came days before the Reserve Bank of India was expected to raise short-term interest rates for a third time this year in a bid to curb inflation.

Services of the Konkan Railway, the lifeline of the west coast of India, were thrown off track while life in coastal districts of Maharashtra was hit badly following torrential rains for the past nearly one week, officials said here on Saturday.  Due to heavy rains lashing the region, a portion of the road near Nivsar station in Ratnagiri caved in, forcing the Konkan Railway to cancel or divert several of its services.

While the Diva-Sawantwadi local train was run only between Diva-Ratnagiri on Saturday, it would remain cancelled on Sunday between Ratnagiri-Sawantwadi. 

The KR cancelled the services of Mumbai CST-Madgaon Konkankanya Express and its return service, and the Madgaon-Mumbai CST Mandovi Express Saturday.

For Sunday, the KR has canceled the Madgaon-Sawantwadi Passenger, Mumbai CST-Madgaon Janshatabdi Express and its return service; the Mumbai LTT-Mangalore Matsyagandha Express and its return service.