Budgeting for credit policy

The finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India have long had a tussle over independence of decision-making for the latter, so the former may have been delighted with a public relations (PR) executive's inability to distinguish between the Budget and the monetary policy review. On the eve of the mid-quarter review of the monetary policy on March 19, a PR executive called a reporter and enquired - not once but twice - about planned Budget stories. He had to be reminded that the Budget was over three weeks ago.