New Delhi, Apr. 15 : Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said that the Indian Government is seeking a global consensus on spiralling prices of food and oil in many countries, saying the problem would transform into a global contagion if timely action is not taken.

Chidambaram reportedly told the Development Committee of the World Bank and the IMF, that the global community must collectively deliberate on immediate steps to reverse the increases in food prices, which threatens to negate the benefits to the poor nations from aid, trade and debt relief trend.

He also welcomed the IMF's plan to raise its quota and vote shares in the bank as a significant first step that would have a catalytic effect on reforms in the World Bank and other institutions under the UN umbrella.

The International Monetary and Financial Committee of the IMF meeting in Washington endorsed the reform proposal. (ANI)