Rupee, fuel: Questions Modi raised against last govt now haunt him too

Any government that thinks it can control tariffs, the rupee and inflation, while containing the fiscal deficit, is in for a nasty surprise

A couple of things happened last week in India that deserve a bit of attention -- mostly because they reveal how deep the country’s structural problems go and how few good options the government has left. The first was the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to hold interest rates steady even though the rupee had hit record lows against the U.S. dollar. And the second was the federal government’s attempt to suppress rising fuel prices.

The RBI’s steadiness on rates was born of its belief that inflation was close enough to the bank’s target zone. Now, you might disagree with